What Do You Obtain Through Rage?
by True Rage
Summary: The titans are helped by a stranger in two critical conditions, but the guy isn't a spot light hero. When he gets hurt, the titans return the favor. But what the heck is this guy doing in Jump City anyway?
1. Chapter 1

This is a fanfic I've been working on since April and still haven't finised, yet, it came out quite well in my opinion.

So anyway ... After fighting the Brotherhood of Evil, the titans expirience a low crime rate acros the town, which is very suspicious to Robin who discovers that there is another individual who fights crime in his city. The titans dicover that this guy doesn't like takeing the spot light away from them and that he isn't so keane on talking to much. Even so he helps them in two critical conditions, and when he is injured the titans return the favour.

Things I promice: Romance, action, fighting, a bit of drama, a bit of spirituality, some angst etc etc. I'm trying to make it as diverse as posible so that all readers would like it. Also, I promice an OC that doesn't have more powers than Jesus, that isn't exagerated and that doesn't take the spot light or couples up with anyone of the titans! (I hate those fking Mary Sue OC's ... pardon the french).

A/N: I don't own Teen Titans (duh ... obviously), but I do own Rage, my OC.

That's about it, I don't want to spoil the story. So without further ado I give you:

**What Do You Obtain Through Rage?**

Chapter 1 - Insomnia (Prologue)

9:30 A.M., the tower was coming to life along with a new day. Things were going on rather smoothly, Cyborg and Beast Boy were playing video games as usual, teasing each other with every chance they had, Raven was standing in front of the window reading and looking outside from time to time like she was expecting something to happen, Starfire was preparing breakfast in the kitchen and already layed the table. Everyone followed their usual program, but something was not right, Robin was mising, and seeing how he is usualy the first that wakes up his absence baffled Starfire.

Robin entered the room looking exhaused and drowzy like he hasn't been sleeping for ages Seeing him like this, Starfire immediatly turned to him.

_"Good morning Robin! Is something the matter?"_ the alien girls asked.

_"Mornin' ... yawn ... I didn't sleep quite well"_ said Robin _"I got only 7 hours of sleep these past few nights"._

_"More like these past weeks"_ exclaimed Raven.

Cyborg then turned to Robin._ "You don't look so good man, you really should get some more rest"._

_"Thanks, I apreciate your concern but I'm fine, a cup of coffee is all I need and I'll be on my feet in no time"_ said Robin who was trying to fake the fact that he was alright.

_"What have you been doing these last few nights anyway that you couldn't sleep?"_ asked Raven with a curious high interest ... and come to think about it, all the titans wanted to find out what Robin was doing staying up so late those past nights seeing how the criminal rate was lower in the last few months.

_"Well, nothing important, I did a little research that's all, nothing major"_ Robin hesitated to answer.

_"Come on dude!"_ said Beast Boy "You don't stay up all night researching stuff if it isn't something important, you know that! Come on, tell us what you've been up to".

The answer of the usualy hillarious and well disposed changeling surprised the others, but especially Robin.

Starfire aproached Robin placeing her hand on her team mates shoulder _"Robin, are you sure you are alright? You do not look as good as you say you feel"._

_"Actualy, I do have a small migrane, I guess I could use an aspirine"_ said Robin in a not such lively manner.

Starfire levitated up in the air, she was eager to help her team mate, especialy a team mate who is particulary special to her

_"I will get you that aspirine faster than you can say Snarfolw. Would you desire anything else that I may bring you?"._

Robin looked at Starfire with deep emotion, however, he did not expres that feeling physicly.

_"Don't wory, I'll get it my self, relax, I'm fine"_.

The titans were preaty concerned about Robin's hesitation to respond, it wasn't like him to keep things from his team mates, the last time he did so things turned out bad so they didn't want to risk again. Robin took out of a small box an aspirine pill for his headache, he didn't seem to be so troubled as they first thought, but non the less, they kept a steady look out for any unusual behaviour. Robin took a cup to fill it with water from the tap in the kitchen so that the pill will go down easyer, plus, he looked dehydrated, so a cup of coffee should come after a cup of water, but when he got to the sink he saw that it was full of dirty unwashed dishes that were staked one on top of another. In fact, the stack of filthy dishes was a little taller than he was.

_"Uhmmm guys ... who's turn was it to do the dishes last night?"_ asked Robin calmly.

_"Oops! sorry man, my mistake!"_ exclaimed Beast Boy who was still sitig on the couch playing the console with Cyborg, _"I guess I forgot about them!"._

Robin looked at Beast Boy angry and wanted to shout at him but didn't.

"_You always forget Beast Boy"_ he said to him self, and went of to the fridge to get a bottle of water. He opened the fridge and reached in the back where he saw it but also noticed that the fridge was half filled with old and moldy food. He got the bottle and took the aspirine but said to himself _"Hmmm ... somebody really should throw that out or else we'll get sick"._

After that he looked around and also noticed that the main room was untidy. Popcorn litered the floor, the rented movies weren't placed where they should have been, empty soda cans and pizza boxes were every where. What a mess!

_"Guys, have you ever noticed that this room looks almost everytime like a pig stike?"_ said Robin.

_"Don't worry, we'll get it cleaned later"_ answered Cyborg.

_"That's not what I'm talking about"_ said Robin _"I mean we should all pay more attention with the place we live in, after all, the things that suround you also affect you in a way, I think we should all pay more atention to our discipline"._

_"WHATEVER!"_, Beast Boy and Cyborg said at the same time giving Robin no atention.

Raven was paying atention to the discusion but didn't intervine, she agreed with Robin but she knew that if she would say something then an argument would start.

Robin was annoyed and really wanted to shout at Beast Boy and Cyborg but before he even started he was interupted by Starfire.

_"FRIENDS, the breakfast is served, I have made the pancakes with maplle sirup and mustard for you all"._

Beast Boy and Cyborg paused the game jumped up and went to the table.

_"All right, pancakes ... I really had an strange craving for some you know"_ yelled Beast Boy.

Raven and Robin also came to the table. They all sat down and ate with no interuptions and with non of Beast Boys jokes ... looks like he really liked those pancakes.

_"Ahhh, that was delicious"_ exclaimed Cyborg _"Next time I'll get more maplle sirup though"_.

_"That was really great Starfire, you've out done your self"_ said Robin, makeing Starfire blush.

After a small pause of silence Raven looks at Robin and asks, _"So anyway, you still haven't told us about what you've been doing these last nights, any chance you'll tell us?"._

Everybody was paying atention to Robin to see how he reacts. They thought he'll be mad but he opened up to them, contrary to what they were expecting.

_"You see, these last few weeks there have been a series of auto thefts, burgleries and other various crimes in the city of whom's criminals have been aprehended quikly"_ said Robin.

_"So? ... maybe the Jump City police officers are just geting faster, eating less donuts and catching more bad guys, what's wrong with that?"_ asked Beast Boy with a smile on his face, _" ... after all, it means that we have more spare time right ?"._

_"That's just it"_ said Robin _" ... the police men weren't the ones that caught the bad guys. Victims and eye-witneses say that they saw someone catch the villains as they were leaving the scene and that the criminals would get their butts seriously kicked , after which the guy who caught them would be gone."_

The titans were stunded by this information, they all exclaimed: _"That's weird!"_, _"Odd!"_, _"Curious!"_.

Starfire then intervined, _"But Robin, I thought we were the only crime fighters that protected the city"._

_"__That's what we all thought Star, but it seems that we're not alone"_ said Robin who seemed somewhat enthusiastic about the fact that another crime fighter was present in the city.

_"So does anybody know who this guy is? "_ asked Cyborg _" ... or at least do they have a clue about how he looks or something? "._

Robin was kind of curious himself about that fact too.

_"Unfortunetly for us, nobody could give a clear description of him, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens"._

Just as Robin finished his last sentence, the alarm on his comunicator went off. He checked it to see what the problem was.

_"Someone's robing the first national bank, Titans, move out! "._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - An "Unknown Allie"

The titans were aproaching the first national bank of Jump City. Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy (who morphed into a falcon) were flying and keeping a steady look out for anything unusual, while Robin and Cyborg, one on the R-Bike and the other one in the T-Car, were paying atention at ground level. They got closer and closer to the scene of the crime and to their astonishment, this time people weren't running away, but they were running towards the bank.

_"Guys do you see this?"_ said Robin who sounded amazed.

_"Yeah, something's strange, we gotta hurry and find out what's going on"_ said Raven.

_"Dude, either these people are brainwashed and summoned by an unknown force as zombies or going to kick the bad guys butt them selfs ... or I'm going nutty and never eating tofu with ketchup before I go to sleep ever again"_ said Beast Boy.

Upon arriving to the scene of the crime the titans rushed into the bank to battle who ever was robing it. They noticed that the front of the bank was blown up so they hurried.

They all entered the main hallway of the bank with Robin out front yelling:

_"All right, stand right where you are and drop the ..."_

... but he couldn't finish the sentence because there was nobody to stop from comiting any crime, at least somebody who was capable of comiting it beacuse they saw the H.I.V.E FIVE out cold stacked up one over another.

_"OK! Now that's totaly strange ... even creepy!"_ exclaimed Beast Boy who's eyes were as wide as an open window.

_"How come the H.I.V.E FIVE are out cold and ready for the takeing? What the heck is happening here anyway?"_ asked Cyborg who was as baffled about the situation as everybody else.

_"Well let's just see how out cold they are!"_ said Robin who was going toward the stack of villains with his staf and ready to atack at any moment.

_"Please, do be cautious!"_ said Starfire _"It most definetly looks like a trap"_.

Robin was next to the stack of villains and started to poke them with his staf carefully. Nothing happened. He then took their pulse and saw that they weren't dead but indeed out cold. He also noticed another thing, Gizmo was missing, so he asumed he probably flew of before all of this happened.

_"I guess we got our work cut out for!"_ said Raven who didn't show one little sign of being impresed ... after all, she is Raven.

Robin tied up the ciminals togheter with a special made steel rope, so that the police may pick them up when they arrived. He scaned the place and saw that a battle did occur before they got there.

"_We have to find someone who can tell us what happened"_ shouted Robin who seemed annoyed by the fact that he was one step backwards every time.

_"I ... I ... th ... th ... think I could help you, if you want to hear me out that is"_ said a mumbling voice that was coming from under a desk.

Raven removed the desk using her telekinetic powers and revealed a young clerk who was frightened out of her wits.

_"You must not be afraid any more, you are surely safe now"_ said Starfire who kneeled down next to the clerk trying to calm her down.

_"Can you tell us what happened here?"_ asked Robin in a polite and mild way so that the clerk wouldn't feel intimidated in anyway.

_"Yes"_ said the young women _"we were all working, when all of the sudden the front door blew of and these villains ataked us and asked for the money in the vault. All of the customers and most of my work mates made it out runing through the back entrance, but I stayed and hide. The villains went over to the vault and the one that was more muscular tore open the door and they started too take the money. I was afraid to run thinking that if they would see me they would hurt me, but I took a chance anyway. I tryed to run out the way in but this little kid with gogles on his bald head jumped in front of me blocking my way. Next thing I know a guy who could multiply himself surrounded me and every thing seemed lost. I panicked and tryed to run but this vampire like looking figure apeared in front of me, grabing me by the arm. They all started to aproach me but just when they were one foot away somebody shouted from the main entrance **"Let her go, put down the money and surrender now or else"**. The villains turned around and laughed at him but in just a split second the big hary-muscular guy was knoked to the ground with a kick to the chin. Next thing I know they all atacked him so I went behind this desk to hide. I didn't see much but I did hear a lot of screams of pain and bangs, and saw different objects being hurled through the air. I thought the good guy was being killed so I took a peek to see what was going on, but to my surprise, the guy who saved me was stacking up the wrong do'ers like balots of hay. He then turned to me and said: **"The next time scum like this try to rob the bank push the alarm button for God's sake"** and ran off through the back. I was stund and sat down to catch my breath and then you showed up"_.

The titans didn't know what to say. On one hand the bank was safe and they had an unknown allie on their side, and on the other hand their time reaction was getting worse.

Robin seemed concerned but realised that they got there on time and that probably the 'unknown hero' was just in the neighbourhood when all of this happened and got there faster than they did.

_"Do you remember how the guy looked like? Could you describe him?"_ asked Robin.

The clerk sat up and looked more relaxed.

_"Yes"_ she answerd _"He had combat boots similar to yours_ (pointing at Robins steel-toed footwear)_, he was wearing camo pants, a black shirt witht the sleeves rolled up and a ski-mask to cover his face. And oh yeah! ... he spoke with an accent"._

_"Did you observ any unusualnes that could help your description even more?"_ asked Starfire who seemed to want to find out more about this character just as much as Robin did.

_"Come to think about it, apart from his accent, I did see something rather unusuall. You see, when he was fighting off the robers his eyes were blood red, but they didn't glow or anything. He was really furious, I never saw so much hate in somebodys eyes before"._

Through the sound of the people who were gathered outside the bank curious of what had happened, Robin heard in the distance police sirens so he decided to head back home and let the officers do their duty.

Back at the tower the titans were trying to digest the situation at hand.

_"So what do we know about this guy so far?"_ started Cyborg.

Robin was walking through the room back and forth puting his thoughts into order.

_"Well, for one thing we now have a more accurate description, we know he is not the type that likes publicity or wants to be famous with what he's doing, we know he doesn't talk much but does much, and last ..."_ Robin stoped walking and looked at his team mates _" ... he probably needs some anger management courses"._

_"Well who ever he is he must be one tough dude knocking out the H.I.V.E. FIVE single handed"_ replied Cyborg.

Beast Boy jumped up like he was angry or insulted. _"Tough? What are you talking about? We faught those loosers lot's of times and beat them, what's so tough about this tough guy?"._

_"I don't know, maybe the fact that he defeted them alone and knocking them out cold by his self, with no help from others and no gadgets or what-not's makes him so 'tough' "_ answerd Cyborg.

_"But he does not seem to be so ... normal"_ said Starfire who was leaning against a wall _"He did save the bank, and the people, and even the young clerk who was frightened, but he injured the H.I.V.E. FIVE quite badly, and even if they are bad, and try to hurt others, and try to inflict as much pain as they can, we do not give them the same treatment. This 'unknown allie' as you call him almost killed the wrong do'ers. We do not sink to their level, but he almost did. It does not seem right to me"._

_"I think it was revenge"_ said Raven.

_"What do you mean?"_ asked Robin who was surprised of Raven's theory.

_"Yeah, what ar you talking about ?"_ said Cyborg, also trying to find out what Raven meant.

_"I think he was an ex-H.I.V.E. student who got tired of being bad and turned good, and this was his chance to get back at his former class mates"._

_"Could be, but we don't know that for sure, we have to wait again and see what happens"_ said Robin _".. who knowns, maybe next time we'll have more luck finding out who this guy realy is"._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 : Call Me Rage

After trying to put togheter the puzzle and find out more about their so called 'unknown allie' the titans went of to relax. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Robin played the game console, Raven was meditating in her room and Starfire was watching the boys play.

After a while they got bored of playing video games and Robin sugested to play some football outside. Cyborg teamed up with Beast Boy and Robin with Starfire. Raven came outside to enjoy the sun light and to be close to her friends, but she still said she wanted to be the "referee".

After about a half an hour the match was tight, the score equal, the ball was in Robin and Starfires posesion, ten seconds on the clock.

Announcer: _"Robin pases to Starfire, Starfire dribles both Beast Boy and Cyborg she's heading for the end zone ... she scores!."_

_"We are victorious!"_ Starfire exclaimed.

_"Good work Star, you played great"_ said Robin congratulateing her.

Starfire blushed and turned crimson feeling their bond getting tighter.

_"You're wrong! You both played well. Good game you two"_ said Cyborg _"Anyway, we could have kicked your butt if it wasn't for 'tofu legs' over there pointing at Beast Boy"._

Beast Boy was anoyed by Cyborg's joke. _"Oh yeah! blame it all on the vegetarian. Well if you would have payed more atention on defense maybe we would have had a chance to win"_ and turned around with his hands crosed.

_"Yeah! Yeah! Don't worry 'grass stain', maybe next time I'll play with Raven and you'll be the referee"_ said Cyborg trying to tease his team mate _"... OK! I know I'm up for a movie, who wants to join me?"._

Just then Robin's comunicator rang .

_"That movie will have to wait, something's going on at the museum, move out"._

It was already geting dark when out of the museum came a tall looking figure wearing a blue metal outfit with several guns attached. He was holding a red triangular gem in his right hand and looked at it with never ending greed and a sadistic please.

_"Finaly, the Cruxmeiser gem is in my posesion. Oh how I have been waiting for this moment! The time for a new dawn has come!"._

Sudenly a voice came up from a building and a bird-a-rang came flying and knocked the red gem out of the villains hand.

_"Seems to me like you're blind. There is no new dawn here, only your sun set!"_.

It was Robin who stood up on the edge of a five stories building. He was surrounded by his team mates who all ready took a battle stance.

_"FOOLS, others have tryed to stop me and did not succeed. You pose no threat and you can not stop Doom ... DIE!"_.

The next moment Robin sounded the atack:

_"Titans GO!"_.

The titans engadged in battle with the villain who called himself Doom. Beast Boy morphed into a lion and went strait for him, aiming for his neck, but unfortunetly, Doom shot a hunters net that traped him. Beast Boy changed into several other big animals trying to break free but to no avail, the net was to strong.

_"Guys, I can't get out"_ shouted Beast Boy.

_"It's reinforced elastic titanium, 20 times more resistant than usual titanium, good luck trying to get out of that"_.

Cyborg shot a sonic beam at Doom who dodged it teleporting him self next to the half-teen half-machine hero. Cyborg was punching back and forth, left and right trying to hit him but Doom kept teleporting him self from place to place. Finally, he was behind Cyborg, opened a hatch in his back and deactivated him (kind of like how Robin did when he was trying to get to Slade as Red X).

_"Yo! Stop that! If I get my hands on you you're a dead man"_.

Sudenly Cyborg's battery was reduced to minimum power and he fell to the ground unable to move. Doom stood up and looked around to evaluate the situation and to quikly form a new strategy, when he was struck by a light pole and sent straight into one of the museum's greek type columns. Raven chanted _"Azerath Metrion Zinthos"_ and a car engulfed in a black aura went straight for Doom who jumped to his right and escaped.

_"You should learn to control the speed of your reactions little witch"_ said the villain who pointed a gun and blasted her with a blue laser beam that drained her of all her power makeing her drop to the ground like a rock.

Starfire then flew of and hit Doom in the back with a round of starbolts.

_"You will put down the gem right now and surrender"_ cryed Starfire who's eyes turned green and starbolts started forming in her hands.

Doom was back on his feet and pointed another gun, this time at Starfire who was coming in for the atack.

_"Sorry, but I don't listen to my enemies sugestions"_ he replied and shot her with a field of energy that wraped around her like a rope, disabeling her to move or form starbolts.

He teleported next to her and had a psychotic smirk on his face.

_"You hurt me cuttie, literaly, now it's my turn to hurt you"_ and pointed a gun to her head, but was hit by one of Robin's disks.

_"Leave her alone, you'll have to kill me before you hurt her"_ cryed Robin in a desperate atempt to make Doom face him and fight.

_"Well, well, well ... it looks like I touched a soft spot in the little boys heart. Give me one good reason I should fight you and not finish her off instead"_ said Doom with a demented and criminal pleasure in his voice.

_"You say nobody defeated you, I'm ready to kick your butt and be the first one to do it, but do you have the guts to fight like a man?"._

_"Hard words coming from a not so powerful child"_ replied Doom _"... All right, I accept your chalange. Let's do this mano-a-mano, man to man"_ and retracted his gadgets back in his metal suit caseing takeing a battle stance.

Robin somer saulted into the air and hit him with a kick to the chest sending Doom to the ground, the villain responsed with a similar move but much more harder after which he started to pound Robin with everything he had. The swift punches and kicks made Robin dizy and forced him to retreat a few steps back. When he saw the chance, Doom tryed to finish him of with a blow to the head but Robin reacted with a sharp punch to the chin and several kicks in the head that made Doom weary.

Robin again somer saulted high into the air aiming a kick straight for Doom's head but the next thing he knew Doom takes out a gun and blasts Robin with a laser beam that makes him drop to the ground out-consciense.

The others watched in shock, helplesly, how their leader was being defeated. Something wasn't right, nothing like this ever happened before.

_"Robin, get up man! Fight! Don't let him win! Don't give up!"_ yelled Cyborg who was lyeing on the ground powerless.

_"What ever happened to 'man to man' Doom? What's wrong? Afraid he could beat you?"_ asked Beast Boy who was still strugeling under the net.

_"It doesn't matter how you play the game, but how you win it ! "_ replied Doom _"... Learn that lesson and you could defeat me one day if you escape"._

He then went next to Robin who was lyeing on the ground unable to react, grabed him by the collar of his neck and pointed a gun to his forehead.

_"Time to say 'goodbye' to your friends little boy. After I'm done with you I'll finish off the rest of your team. And by the way, if you can still hear me, which I doubt, I'll have a real good time with your little red headed girlfriend. I'll especially finish her slowly and painfully"._

He then stood up and prepared to fire.

_"ROBIN ... NOOO!"_ cryed Starfire who's eyes were full of tears, afraid that Robin could die.

_"Good night boy wonder"_ said Doom stresing the word 'boy'.

Everything seemed lost, no chance for the titans. Doom was prepareing to pull the trigger and kill Robin when an unexpected blow to the side sent him skiding of on the pavement straight into the museums stairs droping the gun in the proces.

And then, a voice acompanied by a misterious figure came out of the dark. It was the 'unknown allie' that saved the bank earlyer. He looked just as he had been described. He walked towards Doom and took him by the neck.

_"Next time you want to take something make sure you pay for it"_ said the 'unknown allie' who started to kick the living day lights out of Doom, his eyes turning blood red as he was beating the villain.

After a good couple of minutes during which Doom was beaten up good, the villain retreats a few yards away, draws the same gun he used to blast Robin and tryes to hit his adversary.

_"I had enough of this, this ends here and now, prepare to have you neurons scrambled"_.

The 'unknown allie' picked up a pice of broken glass that reflected Dooms laser beam into the side mirror of a car, which reflected the beam and hit the villain back.

Doom fell to the ground out-cold.

_"Next time you fight, be a man and fight like one you miserable scum!"_ said the 'unknown allie' with so much anger in his voice that it would probably have made Osama Ben Laden sht his pants.

He jumped to Cyborg and tryed to help him.

_"How do I get you back on-line?"_ he asked.

_"You'll see a red knob on my back, turn it up from min. to max. and I'll be back on my feet"._

The 'unknown allie' does as he is told and and along Cyborg help the others.

Starfire saw Robin and rushed to him. He was still out cold.

_"Robin wake up, please wake up, please, don't leave us Robin"_ cryed the beautifull teen-alien who had tear drops running down her cheeks.

Cyborg came next to Robin and took his pulse.

_"Is he ... decesed?" _Starfire asked with tears in her eyes.

_"No, he's just out cold but he could go into a coma if we don't do something fast"._

_"Let me help you"_ said the one that saved them _"I know how to get him back"_.

_"I could just try to enter his mind and bring him back to conscience you know"_ said Raven.

_"No, Don't do that! He was hit by an electro-magnetic shock wave that scrambled up his neurons. If you try to enter his mind you'll probably make it worst, trust me"._

The 'allie' then turned to BB.

_"Beast Boy, can you change into an electric eel ?"._

Beast Boy was surprised. _"Huh? Yeah sure, but why ?"_ asked the changeling.

_"Just do it!"._

Beast Boy morphed into an eel and the 'unknown allie' took off Robin's right boot and told Beast Boy to bite down on Robin's big toe and shock him for 15 seconds with electricity. Beast Boy did as he was told.

_"Good, now change into a porcupine"_.

_"What ever you say"_ replied BB.

BB turned into a porcupine like he was told and the 'unknown allie" took a couple of spikes of his back. He used the spikes to insert them into Robin's skin.

_"Wait, will this not hurt him?"_ Starfire asked worried.

_"Don't worry, it's acupuncture, inserting these spikes will make him wake up"_.

He inserted one of the spikes in Robin's ankle, two in his uper arm, another two in his neck and one on the tip of his nose. Robin woke up almost instantly but a little dizzy. The titans were happy to see him alright and Starfire embraced him as he awakened.

_"Oh Robin, you are alive! We thought we have lost you, I'm so glad that you are alive and well"._

Robin blushed and noticed that he was on the ground.

_"Wh ... Whaa ... What happened?"_ he asked _" ... the last thing I remember is fighting Doom. He shot me and now I am here"._

_"The 'unknown allie', as you call him, saved us"_ Starfire answered.

_"Yup! If it wasn't for him you could've probably been dead or in a coma right now"_ said Raven.

_"He's here? Where? Show me!"_. Robin was eager to thank the one that helped him.

_"He is right there"_ said Cyborg _" ... in front of the ... hey! Where did he go?"_.

The 'unknown allie' was walking away towards the town. Robin saw him, got up and ran after him.

_"Hey wait up! Wait! Hang on a minute"_. Robin catched up to him. _"I want to thank you for helping my team an me, we really apreciate your help, misterrrrr(?)"._

The 'unknown allie" turned around and looked Robin. His ski-mask covered his face and didn't show any facial reactions.

_"Call me Rage, and don't wory Robin, I just did what any other good intended individual would do. Really, you don't need to thank me for anything"._

_"How do you know my name?"_ he asked surprised that he knew his name.

Rage looked at him and seemed to smile under his mask

_"Heck, every one in this city knows you. You protect them, remember? People also like to talk ... "_.

_"Yeah, you got me there"_ Robin replied a little embaresed _"... Anyway, pleased to meet you Rage"_ said Robin as he extended his hand.

Rage shook Robin's hand in a friendly but some how military way.

_"Like wise I'm sure"_ responded Rage _" ... You should head back to your base, get a good night's sleep, I'm sure that tommorow other criminals will be active. I best be going back to my rounds"_ and took off.

_"Hey wait! Do you need a place to crash?"_. Robin insisted.

Rage stoped and turned around. _"No thanks. I think I shouldn't, I have my old aticks, basements and abandoned buildings. I'm fine the way I am"._

_"You mean to say that you do not have a home? You are homeles?"_ asked Starfire surprised.

_"Well, I wouldn't say that, but if you like it you could say that I'm not living the uptown life, but it's better this way, trust me"_ answerd Rage.

_"This is unacceptable, one who has done good deserves to be treated good as well. Please, will you not come and stay at our tower?"_ asked Starfire.

"_Yeah! That's a good idea"_ said Beast Boy _"... we have video games, pizza, movies, a big screen TV, a spare comfy bed, and all the tofu you can eat"._

_"We also have a good training ground you can exercise"_ intervined Cyborg.

_"And a view over the city you could die for"_ said Raven, who tryed to talk him into staying at them.

Robin went next to him. _"So what do you say? We would be glad to have you as our guest"._

Rage then turned around. "_I thank you very much for your proposal and I'm grateful for your concern but belive me, I am beter off alone"_ and left saying nothing more.

_"Won't you at least reconsider ?"_ shouted Robin.

_"I've already made up my mind. Go home, rest, I wish you good luck"_ and continued to leave.

Robin wanted to go after Rage but Raven stoped him.

_"Let him go! He probably has problems he must get over, he'll come to his sences eventualy"._

Robin kept looking at him and felt a little down. _"Your probably right, come on guys, let's head home"._

_"But what about Doom?"_ asked Beast Boy.

_"What about him?"_ replied Raven _"His mind is all scrambled like your tofu eggs, the police will take care of him"_.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - I Want To Tell You Something

At titans tower everybody went of to bed, they were exhausted and needed to rest. Starfire couldn't sleep, she was going down the hall way to the kitchen to get something to drink when she sudenly realised that she had just passed Robin's room. She remembered about the fight he had earlyer and remembered Robin's reaction when Doom threatend her. She stood there levitating for a while trying to get her thoughts toghether. Ever since Robin saved her from the Gordanians she had secretly loved him and tryed to get as close to him as posible but she didn't know how he felt about her. Further more, he seemed to be more interested in his work and research than in her. In fact, she thought that she didn't arouse even one speck of interest in Robin's mind, let alone in his heart. This made her sad as she was madly in love with him and wanted to find out how he felt about her.

Thinking that Robin was asleep, she opened his bedroom door to check on him, but Robin was awake at his desk and working. She entered his room silently. Robin was trying to piece togheter the ends of this story, he wanted to know what made Rage refuse to come to the tower. He was very tired but he refused to sleep. Starfire levitated through the room towards Robin.

Robin's room was full of mechanical gadgets, tools and other stuff like that, his walls were covered with news paper articles and maps, his desk was filled with files and various other documents.

_"Robin, why are you still awake?"_ asked Starfire touching him on his shoulder.

Robin was startled and jumped seeing how he was in deep concentration. _"Starfire, phew ... it's only you."_ said Robin catching his breath.

_"Of course it is only me, where you expecting anyone else? Should I leave?"_ Starfire asked surprised.

_"No, you don't have to, you can stay if you like"_ said Robin who didn't want Starfire to feel rejected.

Robin loved Starfire just as much as Starfire loved him, but he had the same problem as her, he didn't know how she felt about him and how she would react if he would tell her his true feelings.

_"Robin, what were you doing before I came in? It seems that you are very busy"_ said Starfire.

_"Oh nothing! Just a little research that's all"_ replied Robin.

_"Robin you have researched to much these last past nights. No more researching, please, you must get some rest. You can research tommorow as well. Please Robin, do it for me!"_.

These last 4 words made Starfire realise that she had just shown Robin a little side of her great afection for him and it made her heart shrink. Robin was also impresed by those last 4 words and also realised that it meant that Starfire did in fact have feelings fo him. They both blushed and avoided to face each other prefering to take a small peek after which they would look back, embaresed.

Robin decided to tell Starfire about how he felt for her. He didn't know if it was the right moment but he took a chance.

_"Star, I want to talk to you about something"_ said a crimson faced Robin.

_"Yes!"_ responded Starfire with a weary voice.

_"Strafire, I was wondering, we know each other for some time now, right?"._

_"__That is correct Robin"_.

_"Well, I was thinking, you and me are very good friends, we talk about a lot of things and we never hide anything from each other"._

_"You are right again. Robin, I feel the same way about you"._

Robin took Starfire's hand. It made both of their hearts race at and alarming speed, the tension was great, their blood rushed through their veins like crazy. Standing there, holding their hands, looking at each other was something magical for both Starfire and Robin. They felt their chests were going to explode.

_"Starfire, I want to tell you something, something I want you to know, and I hope that you share the same feeling towards me as I do towards you"._

_"Yes! What is it?"_ asked Starfire who was shaking like a leaf, almost on the verge of droping on her knees and beging Robin to tell her he loved her.

Robin got nearer and nearer.

_"Star, I want to say that you are my best friend. You care about me and always look out for me, and I share the same feelings and emotions ... and ... I want to tell you that I consider you much more than a friend"_.

If Robin still had a needle in him he would have poped like a baloon. Starfire didn't know how longer she could bare the tension before she would jump all over the boy she loved and kiss him.

_"I guess I just want to say ... " ._

_"Yes? Yes?"._

Feel the tension, if you can't, try to imagine it.

Robin gathered all of his courage and started:

_"I want to say that I lo ... "_ but just then Beat Boy walked into the room and ruined everything.

Robin and Starfire separated quickly so that Beast Boy wouldn't suspect anything.

_"Beast Boy you're dead!"_ said Robin to himself.

_"Hey you guys, what are you talking about, aren't you asleep yet? I was walking to the kitchen and heard you two speak"_.

Starfire was embaresed and felt ackward.

_"I think I should go now"_ and flew of to her room quikly.

_"No, Starfire wait!"_ said Robin; but to no avail, she already was in her room, under her sheets, crying because she loved him and didn't know what to do.

_"What was that all about?"_ asked Beast Boy.

_"Get out of my sight!"_ shouted Robin _" ... you just had to come in and ruin everything like you always do!"_ and slamed the door in BB's face.

Beast Boy was amazed and didn't understand what was going on, but he soon realised he did a big mistake barging into Robin's room and went of to his room feeling guilty for ruining Robin and Starfire's moment togheter.

Robin took a bird-a-rang and threw it, he also kicked his desk and then sat down on his bed.

_"How am I ever going to tell Starfire I love her now? This was my best chance yet! Who knows when I'll get another chance like this"_ said Robin to himself while going to sleep and thinking about only one thing ... _Starfire_.

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By the way, thanks for the reviews you guys, I really apreciate it :)


	5. Chapter 5 Part 1

Chapter 5 - I Guess I Could Stay

**Part 1 - Lights, Camera, Romance!**

The next day, everybody was up but the atmosphere in the tower was very tense. Cyborg was training just so that he would be alone and not play the console. He was also furious about the fact he was been defeated by Doom and needed to let some steam out. Beast Boy was thorwing rocks in the water trying to make them skip the surface and thinking about how mad Robin must be at him for interupting something special, Raven was meditating as always but seemed restles, Starfire was in her room looking out the window at the city and thinking about what happened the night before, and Robin was in his room researching as he has been for several days.

The truth is that even though he tryed to work, Robin couldn't focus, and who could blame him? After all, the night before was a failiure all because of a minor interference from Beast Boy. He was so mad at BB that if he would catch him he would surely knock him out, but seeing how he was the leader of his team he had to be an example. He realised that he couldn't risk losing a member of his team. He tryed to isolate him self in his work but to no avail, he still kept thinking of how would have Starfire reacted if he would have told her about how he feels.

Would have she rejected him?

Would have she jumped into his arms?

For the moment, nothing was clear. He felt he was going crazy. From time to time he would punch a wall or throw something just so that he could relieve him self of negative energy. He wondered about how he could find out what Starfire felt for him. He abandoned his work, finaly admiting to him self that this is much more important. He couldn't come up with anything, he kept thinking but nothing ... blank ... zero. He then decided to get some fresh air and left his room.

Starfire was confused by everything that happened the night before. On one hand, she was close to finding out what Robin was feeling for her and realised by his actions that he shared the same emotions, and on the other hand she felt embaresed when Beast Boy entered the room and by the fact that she ran of crying. She loved Robin but she was afraid that the others would find out. How was she to deal with this obstacle?

But as she sat and thought about it, why should she be afraid at all? She should feel happy that she is with Robin but the fact that she ran of meant that she was some how ashamed.

Even she didn't understand why she reacted this way. She felt sad and lonely. She kept thinking of a way to deal with this situation and finaly said to her self:

_"So who cares if Robin and I would have a boyfriend-girlfriend bond? Why should I be the one that does the running away? Who cares about what the others say as long as we are happy togheter? If they are my friends, as well as Robin's, they should understand why we have chosen to be togheter ... after all, if Beast Boy would emotionaly bond with Raven and the other way around, I would feel happy for them and not otherwise. They will have to deal with our decision wether they like it or not"_.

She decided that the next time Robin would bring up this topic she would continue until Robin admits that he loves her. Feeling confident, she also decided to get out of her room and have breakfast.

In the comon room that was connected directly to the kitchen there was nobody except Robin who was drinking a cup of steaming coffee and looking out the window thinking of a way to win Starfire's atention. Just then, the door slided open and Starfire came in levitating. She looked around but when she saw Robin by the window she tryed to avoid looking at him. Robin felt akward and did the same thing. They were nervous, and didn't know how do deal with the situation at hand.

Starfire forgot about brekfast and just took a cup of Raven's herbal tea. They stood in the same room, but didn't face each other. The tension was rising as they wanted to continue the discusion they had the night before but didn't know how to confront one another so as to start a conversation.

While they sat there, not looking at each other, they couldn't stop thinking about the one they loved. They took small sips of their drinks waiting for one of them to say something.

This went on for about 10 minutes until Cyborg and Beast Boy came in and sugested to go to a movie later on.

_"Yo guys!"_ said Cyborg with a big and cheerfull smile on his face _" ... you wanna go to a movie?"_.

Robin and Starfire both turned their atention to him.

_"Sure ... what movie are you talking about?"_ asked Robin who was devising a plan.

_"He's talking about **'Tommorow never came'**, a cool horror flick that really gives you the chills and makes you wet your pants"_ Beast Boy intervined .

_"Sounds like a good idea"_ said Robin rubing his chin with his right hand, and then turned to Starfire _"What do you think Star? You up for a movie?"._

Starfire blushed and still avoided to face Robin even though they were one in front of another.

_"I would love to go and see the movie that makes you chilly and also soaks your pants"_ she replied.

_"Good, we're in!"_ said Robin _"...by the way, is Raven coming?"._

_"Oh yeah!"_ Beast Boy replied with a little emotion _"... umm, she said she likes a good horror flick, he he"_.

_"Then we're set. Movie is at 7 P.M., don't go around makeing other plans"_ said Cyborg.

Unknown to anyone though, is the fact that Beast Boy felt guilty for ruining Robin and Starfire's moment and wanted to make up for his mistake so he came up with the plan that they would all go to a movie and then Robin and Starfire could sit togheter and share a romantic moment, and seeing how it was a horror movie he asumed that Starfire would hang on tight to Robin and then they would be much more closer togheter.

Of course, he also thought about him self and saw the oportunity to charm Raven. Hey, nobody said he couldn't try something out while he tryes to help two other friends out!

Robin seezed the ocasion, you could even say he kind of _"fell"_ in Beast Boy's trap. He thought about the grate chance he would get: a big dark room, a good movie and the girl that he loved right besides him. What more could he ask for?

_"It can't get any better than this. Beast Boy you crazy little ...whatever you are, this time I forgive you but next time I'll whoop your butt"_ Robin said to him self smileing.

Starfire also thought that this is a good oportunity to show Robin again how she felt towards him. She decided that she would sit next to him and hang on tight when a scary part comes up, trying this way to charm him and give him a clear hint. She was so happy that she started gigeling as she sat down on the couch.

The titans waited restlesly for the time to pass.

7 P.M. The cinema theatre. Young couples, older couples and regular folks were all buying tickets to see the movie. The titans got backrow seats. Starfire and Robin sat next to each other, Raven and Beast Boy did the same and Cyborg sat next to the two couples unsuspecting, munching down on a big tub of popcorn.

After the opeing comercials, the movie started and the titans were paying much atention not only to the movie but also to their friends that sat next to them. Okay! Let's exclude Cyborg who was just watching the movie and eating.

The flick turned out to be quite a good horror film indeed, people were geting scared from 5 to 5 minutes, including Starfire who was lanching on to Robin tightly and Raven who didn't show great fear but couldn't fake the fact that she was scared stiff. Beast Boy saw this and turned to her.

_"Rae, are you okay?"_ asked Beast Boy who sounded a little concerned.

_"I'm fine"_ replied Raven _" ... it's just this movie, it kind of gives me the creeps"._

_"You sure you are okay? I mean ... if there's something that bothers you we can leave"._

_"No, it's alright. I'm okay ... really",_ said Raven who noticed that BB was showing a slight sign of afection towards her.

Seeing how she now admited being afraid and not denying it, she would understand why her team mate would be concerned. She usualy doesn't expres her emotions in any way, so the fact that she is now expresing a slight thread of fear would be something raher unusual for the others. Beast Boy looked at her, took her hand and squeezed it gently.

_"Remember, you don't have anything to be afraid of. I'm here"._

Raven felt a new sensation, a feeling not so familiar to her, she felt that Beast Boy was careing for her. She then thought about the fact that this could probably be just a friendly gesture but she wasn't sure about it, she realized that deep down in his heart Beast Boy had 'certain' feelings for her. She blushed and kept her head down.

_"Thanks Beast Boy!"_ replied Raven who was now thinking about why in the world Beast Boy would like her seeing how she usualy teases him a lot.

A couple of seats down from Beast Boy and Raven, Starfire was holding on tight to Robin who didn't know how to tell her what he felt. The movie frightened Starfire so much that she would gasp at every scary part of the film and squeez Robin's arm lightly.

_"Star, are you okay?"_ asked Robin.

_"I'm only frightened because of the movie, it seems to be so ... real"._

Robin then took Starfire's hand.

_"Don't worry Star, it's just a movie, nothing like this could ever happen. And even if it does, I'd be there for you"._

Starfire closed her eyes and gently placed her head on his shoulder.

_"Oh Robin, I always feel protected when I am beside you"._

Robin turned his head to look at Starfire who now faced him. Holding their hands, looking at each other straight in the eyes in the dark theatre room, their hearts started to beat fast, real fast.

_"Starfire, I always feel so happy when I'm with you. I promise I'll always be here for you, no matter what!"_ said Robin.

A beed of sweet started to trikle down the back of his neck.

_"Robin I must tell you something"_ said Starfire quietly but cute _"... last night, when I told you I feel the same way that you feel about me I meant to say that I also consider you as much more then just a friend. We are very close and I care much for you, very much"._

_"Star, last night was the first time I ever felt true happines in my life. I really mean it, and when you ran off I was miserable"._

Robin and Starfires face's aproached one another.

_"Also, I feel that I must tell you something, something that I've been holding in my heart from the day we met and that I wanted to tell you last night"._

Their hearts started to pump battery acid.

_"Yes?"_ asked Starfire who again felt like she would be able to drop and beg on her knees just so that Robin would tell her those 3 little words she has been waiting to hear for so long.

Robin gazed into her green emerald eyes that almost absorbed his entire being.

_"Star, I want you to know that "_... **5, 4, 3, 2, 1**. _"...I love you"_ (Nuclear Heart Meltdown).

A tear formed in the corner of Starfire's eye at the sound of those '3 little words'. She was so happy that she had forgoten for a moment who she was, where she came from and what she was. In her mind there were only 3 words that kept repeating them selfs, "I LOVE YOU!" and one face, Robin's.

Both leaned in for the kiss they have been waiting for since the day they met and first kissed. Slowly, calm and passionate ... but just as their lips were inches away from each other a large explosion was herd, the movie stoped, and 30 men invaded in the front of the screen armed with AK-47's, KM 50's and various other automatic weapons.

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Thank you very much for the reviews, and don't worry ... Rob and Star's relathionship will develope in an interesting way during the story ;)


	6. Chapter 5 Part 2

Part 2 - Team Anarchy

The titans jumped up from their seats as the armed hooligans stormed the front of the theatre. Their numbers rose and about 40 armed individuals pointed their weapons at the crowd of people that was trampeling it's self to get out. A tall and punk type looking figure started speaking with an evil toothy smirk on his face.

_"All right, everyone don't move and put your valuables down on the floor. Team Anarchy needs money for beer"_.

The people in the theatre tryed to get out as fast as they could not paying any atention to what they've been told.

_"So you don't want to listen ey? You asked for it ... Team Anarchy, FIRE!"._

The villains started to fire rounds at the people that were despretly runing out but a black aura of power formed a shield to stop the bullets. When everybody got out the shield disipated and only the titans and Team Anarchy were left in the room.

_"Well well, the Teen Titans"_ said one of the villains who was also aparently the leader _"... they shouldn't be so hard to take down ey boys?"._

Robin stood up in a battle stance ready to sound the attack.

_"We've taken down bigger threats than you, what makes you think you'll be able to beat us?"._

The leader smiled maleficly, _"Simple, we have live rounds, prepare to face total anarchy. Fire at will!"._

The battle began and the villains started shooting live rounds towards the titans trying to kill them but Raven took their weapons, twisting and smashing them using her telekinetic powers.

_"Looks like you punks don't have anymore toys to play with"_ said Cyborg _" ... what are you going to do now?"._

_"You think we didn't expect that? We're ready for any type of fight metal head ... Team anarchy, attack"_.

The villains jumped at the titans with their bare fists. Curiously, they were much tougher then expected. They dodged Cyborg's sonic beam, Robin's explosive disks and Starfires star bolts, they stoped Raven from chanting _"Azerath Metrion Zinthos"_ and use her powers and jumped at Beast Boy and took him down in any form that he morphed into. The titans still fought and delivered great blows to their enemys but they responded with the same strenght.

The fight was even. It was difficult, but not imposible.

The fighting went on for almost 20 minutes until the titans started showing signs of fatigue.

_"We have to find out a way to take'em down man, and fast"_ said Beast Boy.

Raven was begining to retreat and was attacked by 10 of the bad guys. Beast Boy jumped to her rescue, morphed into a gorilla and started to beat them violently. Raven was impresed and moved at the same time.

Just then the leader of Team Aanarchy flew across the room and was smashed in the closed iron door at the entrance and landed with a great thud. Both teams turned their atention to him and after that to the place he was standing before where they saw no one other than Rage in a battle stance with his eyes being blood red.

_"You endanger innocent people and destroy properties that are not yours trying to steal and comit crime? For this you must pay!"_ he yelled stresing the word 'pay'.

Rage launched him self at the 'anarchists' and started pounding them one by one. The villains quickly reacted and split into teams of six per enemy. The titans kept on fighting and helping each other and Rage if one of them was in a difficult situation. Rage continued to blow punches and kicks and receive hits but observed that one of the villains who was hidden behind some seats in the theatre, pulled out a gun and pointed it directly towards Starfire who was hitting her opponents with green star bolts. Rage ran towards her.

_"Watch out!"_.

The villain started shooting and Rage jumped right in front of Starfire pushing her away. He was shot and fell to the ground but got up imediatly pressing down on his wounds. Starfire went straight to him, and all the other titans started to fight their enemys harder to stop them and tend to their wounded 'allie'.

_"You are hurt, you must lay somewhere you can not be found and injured"_ said Starfire who tryed to take Rage to a safer place.

_"I'm fine, don't worry about me, take them down!"_ shouted Rage who moved towards the enemy.

Starfire grabed Rage trying to stop him.

_"But you are hurt and in no condition of ..."._

_"That doesn't matter, take'em down, That's an order!"_ yelled Rage who went for the attack with an almost criminal look in his eyes even though he was hurt .

Starfire did as she was told and kept on fighting even though she wasn't used to take comands, especialy from people she didn't know. After a couple of minutes the titans helped by a wounded Rage took down most of the members of Team Anarchy and tied them up.

_"Looks like we took'em all out"_ said Raven.

Robin counted them to see if they caught all of the villains. _"37, 38, 39 ... there's one left"_.

_"There he is!"_ shouted Rage pointing at the leader of T.A.

He ran after him, caught up and started to beat him with savagely.

_"You tryed do kill me ey? Who are you to try and kill me?"_ he shouted in anger.

Cyborg ran over to Rage and took him by the arms, squeezing him so that he would stop beating the wrong do'er to death.

_"Chill man! Chill! Your killing him!"._

Rage tryed to brake free but remained without power and stoped strugling. He finaly cooled down and Cyborg released him from his grip. The titans picked up the leader of the T.A. more dead than alive. He was all swolen up and covered with blood. Rage looked at him with an evil look. His fists were bruised and bloody from the fight.

_"Dude! you almost killed him"_ replied a shoked Beast Boy.

_"That would have been a good thing for man kind, but not a proper punishment for the likes of him"_ replied Rage who now stood up not looking so good.

_"You almost sank to their level of cruelty, you must not be like them Rage"_ said Starfire.

_"Yeah man!"_ said Robin _"... what got in to you?"_.

Rage then fell to his knees. It seemed the loss of blood from the gun shot finaly got to him.

_"I hate the ones who don't see the right way and do injustice"_, said Rage spiting towards the one fought earlyer and colapsed to the ground and passed out.

_"RAGE!"_ yelled all the titans in unison atending to their allie.

_"He has been shot by the weapons of Team Anarchy'"_ said Starfire.

_"Quick! Beast Boy, Cyborg, tie up Team Anarchy and take them outside to the police"_ screamed Robin _" ... Rage is shot, we have to take him to the infirmery right away"._

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I suppose I did rush my self a bit when it came to Robin and Starfire ... but not to wory, the development of their relationship will be interesting and will play a big, if not the most important role in the story!_  
_


	7. Chapter 5 Part 3

Part 3 - Decisions, decisions ... 

Back at the tower the titans rushed Rage to the infirmery to save his life as he was aparently shot 8 times by one of the members of Team Anarchy, thus saveing Starfire's life. It was the second time he saved the titans from a critical condition, almost with the price of his own life.

At the infirmery Cyborg and Robin placed Rage on the bed.

_"Take his shirt off, fast! He's been shot in the chest"_ said Raven.

Cyborg took off Rage's shirt but observed that he was wearing a bullet proof vest that had 6 bullets imbeded in it. Even though, he still had 2 other scars on his chest, but those were older. Even so, Rage was still hurt, it seems that he had been shot by 8 bullets, 6 of which hit him in the vest and another 2 that hit him in the right shoulder.

_"Looks like he was prepared for a shoot-out"_ said Cyborg who took the vest and placed it on a counter.

_"Should I take his mask off?"_ asked Beast Boy who wanted to lend a hand.

_"No!"_ exclaimed Robin _"He probably wears it for a reason. Plus, I don't think it's necessary"_.

Rage was laying on the bed shirtles with 2 wounds on his right shoulder. Cyborg took an oxygen mask, lifted Rage's ski-mask a little bit and placed it over his mouth and nose. He aparently had a short trimed beard. Then Robin placed a couple of sensors on Rage's chest and hooked them up to the main computer in the room.

_"Cyborg, I want to see in what kind of condition he is"_ said Robin who held a forcep in his hand _"Check the monitor and give me the data a.s.a.p. I'll take the bullets out of his shoulder"._

Robin operated on Rage and to his surprise the bullets came out quite easily seeing how they only pierced his skin about 5 centimeters, with no real damage except some small blood vesels that were split.

_"Hmm, looks like he has tough skin"_ said Robin to him self as he looked at the bullets to check if they were indeed real.

_"Cyborg, what did you come up with?"._

_"Well, to be honest ... nothing"_ replied Cyborg _"His vital signs are okay. Blood presure normal, his heart is beating just fine, he doesn't have any problem breathing, no internal bleeding, no nothing. In fact he seems to be just ... well ... sleeping"._

_"Are you sure this thing is on or working right?"_ said Robin who lightly punched the computer.

_"It's working just right!"_ replied Cyborg who grabed Robin's hand so that he would stop punching the computer.

_"Okay! So let me get this straight"_ said Beast Boy _"He gets shot in the shoulder, he fights of 10 bad dudes, he almost kills the leader of Team Anarchy, passes out and now he is sleeping?"._

_"Well ... Yeah!"_ replied Cyborg shruging his shoulders.

_"Does that mean that friend Rage will be healthy?"_ asked Starfire who now looked happier.

_"Can't say that for sure, but from the data I have a good night rest is all he needs right now"_ said Cyborg yawning and bandaging Rage's wounds _"... and as a matter of fact, that's what we should all be doing"_.

Robin turned to Cyborg and asked him _"Are you positive that Rage isn't in any kind of danger?"._

_"Man! If he was in any type of danger would I be standing here doing nothing or would've I been operating on him right away?"._

As Robin was speaking to Cyborg, Rage started to move and talk in his sleep. The titans turned their atention to Rage imediatly. They didn't understand the language he was speaking but remembered that Rage spoke with an accent so they asumed he wasn't American. Rage turned and turned and it seemed he had a nightmare, a real ugly one.

_"What's going on?"_ said Beast Boy to him self out loud.

_"It looks like friend Rage is having the mare of night"_ replied Starfire.

_"Raven"_ said Robin who turned to his team mate _"... can you enter his mind and see what he's dreaming?"._

_"I don't know"_ said Raven adresing Robin _"I entered other peoples minds and read them while they were awake but the dream stage is very complex and I don't know if I can make out much, but I guess I could try"._

_"Good!"_ exclaimed Robin _"... then give it a go"._

Raven placed her hand over Rage's masked head and chanted _"Azerath Methrion Zynthos"_ and entered a trance. During the trance Rage stoped moving but Raven started to shake. She woke out of the trance breathing hard and looked shoked.

_"Oh my God!"_ said Raven who steped away from Rage and placed her hands over her mouth.

_"What did you see Raven?"_ asked Robin impaciently.

_"I saw a battlefield and soldiers dieing"_ replied Raven trying to catch her breath. _"There were cities leveled to the ground and people dead. Blood every where. Men, women, children, elders, soldiers ... all dead"._

The titans listened carefully.

_"Anything else?"_ asked Robin.

_"I remember seeing a lab. Someone was performing experiments on young soldiers. I also recall seeing a woman leave. I don't know what it all means but I think they are memories"._

The titans looked at Rage and remembered about the two unknown scars on his chest. They felt they knew where they came from but didn't speak about it.

_"It seems as though he has a very troubled mind"_ said Starfire.

_"Not troubled Starfire, but very very loaded"_ replied Raven _"When I was in his mind I didn't only read his thoughts, I also could sence what he was feeling"._

_"What kind of feelings did you notice?"_ asked a surprised Cyborg.

_"I felt fear, courage, determination, endurance, pain, regret and other really powerfull feelings, but most of all I felt anger and rage"._

_"Anyway, he looks okay now!"_ said Beast Boy.

_"Yup! BB is right"_ replied Cyborg _"... we should all head to our rooms and get some shut-eye our selfs"._

_"Well, if you say he's okay, then I'm fine with that"_ said Raven leaving.

_"Me too, I'm off to my beauty sleep"_ replied Beast Boy yawning.

_"You guys coming?"_ asked Cyborg adressing Robin and Starfire.

_"I'm staying"_ responded Robin _"I'm going to see if he's really okay ... I can't take any chanches"._

Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven got out the infirmery heading for their rooms. Cyborg was standing at the entrance and looking at Robin.

_"Man seriously, relax! He just needs some sleep, he probably hasn't been sleeping for days. You should do the same"._

Robin was keeping a close eye on Rage and didn't even lift his head.

_"I'll stand guard over him tonight, I don't want anything to go wrong"._

_"Suit your self"_ said Cyborg leaving towards his room.

In the infirmery remained only Robin, Starfire and Rage who was sleeping. Starfire aproached Robin and placed her hand on his shoulder.

_"Robin, you need your rest"._

Robin kept looking at Rage worried.

_"I can't leave him out of my sight Star, he saved my life and yours, I don't want anything to happen to him"._

_"I am aware of your concern for friend Rage"_ said Starfire who took Robin's hand _" ... but I am also concerned for you, you are weakened and need to lay down"._

_"No Star, I can't, I have to stand guard over him tonight"_ said Robin who looked Starfire in her eyes and kissed her on her forehead. _"You should go and sleep, don't worry, I'll be okay"._

Robin took a chair and sat down next to Rage. Starfire pulled a chair her self and sat next to Robin.

_"In that case, I will guard you both if that is fine with you"._

_"You sure you don't want to rest? You had quite a day today"_.

Starfire took his hand and looked at him with afection.

_"Robin, my day has not been made by the attack of the Team Anarchy, but by you"_ and in a split second kissed Robin on the lips.

The moment was magical for the both of them, their lips togheter, their tongues swarming and touching, their eyes closed. It was like a trance that kept on for several minutes, hours or even days for the two.

At about 2 A.M. Robin noticed that Starfire fell asleep on his shoulder. He never saw her asleep and was amazed by the beauty and innocence of his girl while she wasn't awake. He carried her in his arms to her room where he placed her gently on the bed, tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead _'good night'_. As he turned around Starfire woke up.

_"Robin, where are you going?"._

He yawned. _"I'm going back to check on Rage"_. He seemed sleepy and drowzy ... no way he was staying up.

_"Robin, you are highly exhausted and need to regain your strenght"_ said Starfire who winked at him and made him understand that she wanted to sleep next to him.

Robin went next to her bed.

_"Would you mind if I sleep over here tonight?"_ he asked sitting next to her.

_"Please do! I will help you with your sleeping"_ answered Starfire who scoutched over.

Robin took off his boots, cape and shirt and got next to Starfire who placed her arm around him and placed her head on his chest.

_"Good night Robin"_ said Starfire closing her eyes.

Robin embraced her and closed his eyes.

_"Good night Star"_.

The next morning, at about 8 P.M., Robin woke up and noticed that Starfire had her hand around him all night. The rays of the morning sun fell over her charming alien features makeing her even more beautiful. She looked so sweet and peacefull that Robin didn't want to wake her up so he slowly got out of bed, got dresed and quietly left her room. He went straight to the infirmery to check on Rage but when he got there Rage wasn't in bed. The oxygen mask and the sensors were lyeing on the floor, his shirt was gone and it seemed that he left. Alerted, Robin woke up everybody and they all met in the hallway.

_"What's going on?"_ asked Raven who was drowzy and just got up.

_"It's Rage, I woke up and he was gone, he ran away and he could be in trouble"_ answered a shoked Robin _"We have to find him!"._

_"Whou, whou, slow down man!"_ interupted Cyborg _"What do you mean he could be in trouble?"._

_"Are you crazy?"_ Robin replied _"What if he is still hurt, what if he is weak, what if he was kidnapped, what if ... "._

Cyborg placed his hand over Robin's mouth trying to make him quiet.

_"Dude, do you honestly think that an injured man can just run away in the condition he is? He's fine where ever he is, trust me"._

Beast Boy morphed into a dog and started smeling the air atracting the atention of his friends.

_"What are you doing?"_ asked Raven in her sarcastic.

Beast Boy morphed back to his human form and answered. _"I smell breakfast. Ham, eggs, tofu, waffles, coffee ... and it's coming from the kitchen"._

Robin ran towards the common room that was conected to the kitchen.

_"Let's check it out then"_ he said.

The titans rushed to the common room and when they entered they noticed that something was different. The living room was clean, everything was tidyed up and put to it's place, the dirty dishes were washed and also the windows, and there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere. They also saw that the tabel was layed. In the kitchen they saw no one other than Rage preparing breakfast. He looked like nothing even happened. They were so surprised that they didn't move for a couple of of seconds.

_"Comrades"_ greated Rage adressing the titans in a very lively maner _"I bit you a good morning. I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of cleaning up your headquarters and preparing breakfast. Please, sit down and enjoy a home made meal"._

The titans went next to him and almost overcomed Rage with questions about how he was feeling, when did he wake up, what happened and so on.

_"Please, please ... breakfast now, questions later. Sit down and I will bring you your food"._

The titans were intrigued by his behaviour but sat down at the already layed table. Rage came and served them ham and eggs, waffles, pancakes, tofu, orange juice, coffee and herbal tea.

_"__How did you know what to cook up?"_ asked Beast Boy.

_"Yeah! How did you guess?"_ also asked Cyborg.

_"While I was cleaning the refrigerator I took out all the old food and threw it away. Any how, I looked around and observed that you had not so numerous amounts of what I have prepared you, so I asumed that you regulary eat this kind of stuff for breakfast"._

The titans started eating and Rage took out from his pocket a pack of cigarettes.

_"Would it trouble you if I smoke?"_ asked Rage.

_"Well ... alright, as long as you open a window or two"_ replied Robin.

_"Do you have an ashtray I could use?"._

_"Use any ol' glass"_ replied Beast Boy "_... we don't mind as long as you clean it up afterwards and we don't drink infested water that could kill us"._

Rage seemed to smile under his ski-mask.

_"You are funny Beast Boy ... not to worry, I'll take that into account"._

_"Will you not join us for breakfast friend Rage?"_ asked Starfire.

_"No thanks, you go ahead, I had something to eat earlyer"._

As the titans ate Rage smoked his cigarette, lifting his mask over his mouth revealing his short trimed beard. When the titans finished eating Rage came and collected their plates and glasses, took them to the sink and cleaned them, afterwards placeing them to their place.

_"That was very good"_ said Starfire complimenting Rage's cooking.

_"Your a good cook Rage"_ said Cyborg who was cleaning his teeth with a tooth pick _"...you should open a restaurant"._

_"Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad you enjoyed my cooking"_ replied Rage.

After eating the titans went to the living room to unwind. After washing the dishes, Rage headed for the door silently.

_"Hey ... you want to chill on the couch next to us?"_ asked Beast Boy.

_"No thanks, actualy I should be leaving"_ replied Rage who was next to the slideing door _"I have to get back to my rounds. Thank you for all your hospitality and care. See you soon"._

The titans jumped right in front of Rage who was trying to leave the room thus blocking his way.

_"Please, do not leave, stay with us"_ said Starfire who levitated in front of him.

_"Yeah! Hang around man, we don't want you to go!"_ said Cyborg trying to convince him to stay.

_"I don't know ..."_ said Rage with a bit of doubt in his voice _"I don't want to disturb you and your work"._

_"Trust me, between Beast Boys tricks and jokes, someone as responsable as you can't be much trouble"_ said Raven who was also trying to tease BB.

Beast Boy noticed that Raven didn't mean it (he could feel it) and also tryed to convince Rage to stay.

_"Just look around dude! You have everything you need to live the good life. Come on, stay with us"._

Rage looked around and seemed to be impresed by the titans requests.

_"Are you sure you want me to stay?"_ asked Rage a little intimidated. "_I mean ... Wouldn't I just be a burden? Wouldn't I just crowd you up?"._

Robin went in front of him and placed his hand on Rage's shoulder.

_"We have plenty of space for one more. We want to ofer you a home as thanks for saveing our lifes twice. We really think that you would do good if you became a member of the team. Plus, we could use an extra hand with the cleaning around here if you know what I mean"._

Rage took of his ski-mask revealing the face of an older teenager with strong features, brown eyes, short trimed brown hear and beard, and a scar that started from the top of his left eye descending near his chin. The titans looked carefully at him studying his features. He had the face of a leader but his face inspired not only friendship, but also a harsh character.

_"If you really want me to stay and ofer me a home, then ... I guess I could stay"_ replied Rage smileing.

The titans jumped all over Rage congratulating him for his decission, and decided to celebrate the moment and headed to the living room. They now had a new friend.

A new titan was born.

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In case any one is wondering how this Rage character might look like I have a schetch a friend made after the descrition: http/img233.imageshack.us/img233/416/ragewk2.jpg

I've kept my promice this one was a bit longer then before ... about 2000 words I belive. Hope it's not too long though.

The story continues, with a new friend also come new problems, new battles but also new pleasnt surprises ... stay tuned!


	8. Chapter 6 Part 1

Chapter 6 - Whats his problem?

Part 1 - Oh snap!

Beast Boy woke up in his bed after a whole night of dreaming he was an internationaly known rock star that all the girls in the world dreamed about and melted at his feet (keep on dreaming BB!). After awakening, he glared out the window and said to him self "Man! If I wasn't a titan I would've been up to my neck in female fans". He jumped out of his bed morphing into a cat and streatching.

It was another typical bright Jump City day out side and the clock read 11 A.M. .

_"Ahhh, what a great day"_ he said to him self _"I think I'll start it by beating Cyborg at video games, that should definetly get me going for the rest of the day"._

BB smirked and rubed his hands with a devilish look on his face being certain he would defeat Cyborg. He springed out and headed towards Cyborg's room to chalange him, but just as he was ready to knock Cyborg walked out carying a big box full of tools and computer hardwear.

_"Cy, just the guy I was looking for"_ said Beast Boy leaning towards his team mate _"... get this! Me, you, "Total Space Racer 4", winner gets to raid the losers room. What do you say? You up for the chalange?"._

_"Sorry BB, not this morning"_ said Cyborg walking away in sort of a hury but enthusiastic _"I gotta install some new programs on the T-Car and work on it a little. I'll finaly get the chance to change the subwoofer and give the T-Car some more basse and treble"._

Beast Boy ran in front of Cyborg.

_"Come on, admit it ... you're just scared couse you know I'll beat you and get to raid your room!"_ he said raising an eye brow.

_"__Man, between the T-Car and raiding you dirty ol' room full of sweaty socks and filthy underwear I'll go for the T-Car any time"_ said Cyborg sarcasticly and went off.

Beast Boy went along side him heading towards Robin's room.

_"__Oh well! I guess I'll just have to beat Robin then"._

_"You can't, he's not home"_ said Cyborg makeing Beast Boy stop in his traks.

_"What?"_ asked BB surprised because he knew that Robin was always home at this time of day working up new strategies and stuff. _"What do you mean he's not home?"_.

_"Like I said, he's not home, he left about an hour ago with Starfire out somewhere"._

Beast Boy sighed and pondered for a few seconds

_"That's kinda strange. Dude, have you ever noticed how those two are always hanging out, I think there's something going on between them ... but you didn't hear it from me, okay?"._

Cyborg looked at BB and almost laughed

_"Wow! No kidding? Maybe the fact that they left holding hands isn't enough to realise that they have the hots for each other"_.

At hearing this BB was stuned. _"Really? They left holding hands?"_.

_"Man I knew they liked each other ever since the day I met both of them, what the heck, you have to be dumb not to notice something like that"_.

Cyborg left hurrying to the garag but Beast Boy stayed behind confused.

_"But ... who am I gonna play "Total Space Racer 4" with?"_ shouted Beast Boy who was kind of upset.

_"Try Rage, he hasn't left his room for the last couple of days, maybe you'll make him get out"_ said Cyborg walking down to the stairs.

_"Hey! He's right!"_ exclaimed Beast Boy who almost forgot that Rage decided to stay.

He ran to Rage's room fast and knocked at the door.

_"Who is it?"_ asked Rage from inside.

_"It's me, Beast Boy"_ replied the shape shifter.

_"Oh, come in then"_.

BB entered Rage's room and looked around. There wasn't much to see actualy, Rage setled in just 3 days before and didn't have anything with him except some cloathes and three packs of St. George cigarettes so the room only had a bed, an empty bookcase, an almost empty wordrobe, and a chair on which was placed a glass that Rage used as an ashtray. Rage was standing in front of his open bedroom window smoking a cigarette. He seemed to be doing nothing. Beast Boy jumed on his bed laying there.

_"You know that stuff will kill you one day"_ said BB warning his new team mate.

_"We all have to die someday don't we?"_ replied Rage.

_"True, but smokers die faster than non smokers"._

Rage turned at BB looking at him with a sort of weird determination on his face, he looked just like Robin when he worked

_"Like I said ... we all have to die some day"._

BB gulped for no reason at all but came back to his senses.

_"So anyway ... I was wondering if you would like to play some video games. I got the new 'Total Space Racer 4' and I'm looking for victims"._

_"I don't play video games. Never liked them, never tryed"_ replied Rage who was still smoking and blowing cigarette smoke out the window.

_"Oh come on dude! It'll be fun. I'll teach you how to play, and besides, you didn't come out of your room for like what, 2 days now? Aren't you getting claustrophobic in here?"_ said Beast Boy trying to determine Rage to come out of his room.

_"Who said I haven't left my room?"_ asked Rage surprised _"I've been out every night these last 2 nights"_.

BB sighed. _"You have? What have you been doing then?"_.

_"Not much, no crimes means no work"_ replied Rage.

BB was intrigued but still needed a 'victim'.

_"So what do you say? You up for a game? Or are you affraid I'll beat you?"_.

_"Ha-ha! I never lose at anything except an ocasional thumb wrestle"_ replied Rage confident of himself _"Alright then, show me how to play and I'll kick your butt"._

In the comon room Rage and Beast Boy were sitting on the couch. After showing Rage how to use the joy-stick the two started playing. Beast Boy won 8 times in a row and Rage was getting annoyed because of losing. After the 9'th conescutive defeat Rage exploded.

_"Oh come on! ... I never lose at anything and now I lose at this video game. Damn it!"_.

BB was doing a victory dance and was laughing at his friend being glad to wipe that confident smirk of his face.

_"Hey, I forgot to warn you, you're playing against the best video game player in the world. You should be happy I didn't humiliate you in front of everybody"._

_"Yes, yes, what ever you say"_ said Rage _"... you cheater"_.

Beast Boy stoped and looked at Rage furious.

_"CHEATER?"_ BB yelled out _"Are you calling me a CHEATER?"._

_"Yes!"_ Rage exclaimed happy that he got on BB's nerves.

_"I don't cheat, I never cheat, you're nothing but a big sore loser that's what you are"_.

Rage grabed Beast Boy who was off guard and started giving him a nuggie.

_"Admit it, you're a cheater, you're the biggest of them all"_ said Rage while geting on BB's nevres and giveing him a friendly nuggie.

Beast Boy curled around and got back at Rage returning the favour the same way.

_"The tables have turned ha? Now say 'I'm sorry Beast Boy, I'm nothing but a big fat crying sore looser and you're the best' "._

The two scrambled all over the couch grabing and teasing one another, but when BB turned into a gorila and started giveing Rage a really painfull nuggie and teasing him about how he played, Rage broke out of BB's cluches throwing him over the sofa and threw the joy-stick at him. His eyes started to turn red as he went next to BB and grabed him by the collar of his costume.

_"I never lose, you cheated ... ADMIT IT!"_ yelled Rage who was really mad.

_"Dude, chill out, it's only a game!"_ replied BB who was a bit scared of Rage's atitude.

Rage let BB go, droping him on the floor. He let his head fall down in he ground and apologised to him.

_"Oh man! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I don't know what came over me. Please, you have to belive me I didn't intend to hurt you"._

_"Whou, whou, slow down man, I forgive you!"_ replied Beast Boy who was rather perlexed.

He noticed that Rage's eyes came back to their normal colour.

_"I'll be in the gym if anyone needs me"_ said Rage as Beast Boy went to pick up the joy-stick his friend threw.

_"You sure you don't want to play some more?"_.

_"What's the use, I'll just lose again"_ replied Rage who was leaving the room.

_"Oh come on dude, let's play some more, if you leave then what I said was true and you admit it"_.

Rage stoped in front of the sliding door, looked at Beast Boy and noded.

_"Nts, nts, nts ... what a sore winner you turned out to be"_ he replied in a friendly maner.

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I know, not very long ... but the following parts will explain why ;)


	9. Chapter 6 Part 2

Part 2 - TELL ME!

After leaving the main room Rage headed towards Cyborg's room to ask him where the gym was. He was ashamed of him self for acting the way he did with Beast Boy but knew that this was the way he was brought up to be. While walking down the dim lighted hallway he sees Raven walking towards him heading to her room.

_"Hey there"_ greeted Raven trying to build up a conversation _"Haven't seen you in a while"_.

_"Yes, I know"_ said Rage _"Beast Boy chalanged me to play some video games and kicked my butt. Between us ... I think his addicted"._

_"Yeah well that's typical for him"_ said Raven showing off a small smile _"So, where you off to anyway?"._

_"I'm looking for Cyborg, I belive he is in his room, right?"_ replied Rage.

_"Actualy he is down stairs in the garage working on the T-Car"._

_"Okay, so how do I get there?"._

_"Go down the stairs to the ground floor and you'll see a big bolted door with a sign that says 'Mess around with my baby and die' ... that's Cyborg's pet name for the T-Car"._

Rage chuckled. _"Weird! So how come you're not outside enjoying the sun? It's a very beautiful day out there"._

_"I'm not really into sun shine that much, I'm just heading to my room to meditate for a while"_ replied Raven puting her hood over her head.

_"Oh!"_ exclaimed Rage _"You are into meditation and stuff like that?"._

_"That's the way I stay focused and concentrated. I could teach you some time if you want to try it. After all, you really seem like you need some more inner peace"._

Rage looked at Raven a bit startled but didn't show it.

_"Thanks for the proposal but I think I'll pass. My faith doesn't allow me to partake in esoterism and mistic stuff like meditation and I like to stay faithfull to my belifes"._

Raven looked a little entrigued at Rage after telling her about the fact that he belifed in religion and noticed that he was wearing a necklace with a cross under his shirt.

_"You must be christian right?"_ asked Raven.

_"Yes, well actualy I'm orthodox christian, you probably guessed because of my wooden cross right?"_ replied Rage takeing out his cross necklace.

_"Yeah ... but, aren't you christians always telling people like me that what we're doing is wrong and that we should repend or else we'll fry in hell?"_ asksed Raven.

_"Some times, yes, but I think that every person is allowed to belive in what they feel like is better for them, so I won't judge you, or anyone for that matter"_ said Rage with a warm smile on his face.

_"That's good to hear"_ replied Raven.

A moment of silence fell between the two as they looked at each other in a friendly maner.

_"I should be geting down stairs"_ said Rage ending the conversation _"It was nice talking to you Raven, take care and good luck with your meditation"._

Rage left waveing back at her. She remembered about the fact that she entered his mind while he was in the infirmery and saw what he was dreaming and decided that he had the right to know that she also knew what he saw. After all, she was rather curious and thought that Rage will probably tell her more about him self and what may have caused the dream.

_"Hey Rage! Wait a sec"_.

Rage stoped and turned around.

_"Yes? Is something wrong?"_.

Raven walked towards Rage and stoped two steps in front of him.

_"I have to tell you something. I don't know if you'll get mad but you have to know"_.

Rage looked intrigued and didn't understand what she meant. _"What are you talking about?"_.

_"Well, remember when we took you to the infirmery and you were out consciense?"._

_"I was sleeping"_ said Rage interupting Raven _"I didn't sleep for three nights in a row and I was exhausted"._

_"Yes, well anyway, you see, you were turning and twisting in your sleep and speaking in a diferent language and we were concerned"._

Rage was looking at Raven and listening to her with interest.

_"Okay! And, what's wrong with that?"_.

_"We'll apart from the fact that you are probably not american, and I guess you really are not, which is actualy no problem, you really seemed troubled in your sleep"._

Rage was stareing Raven straight in the eyes being curious of what she was going to tell him further.

_"Go on!"_.

_"Okay! Well you see, like I said before, we were all concerned about you and seeing you twist and turn I kind of ..."_ said Raven hesitating _" ... I kind of entered your dream and read your mind"._

Remebering the dream and hearing that Raven entered his mind while he was sleeping and probably saw what he was dreaming, Rage violently grabed Raven's shoulders and shook her.

_"You did what? Tell me what did you see ... TELL ME!"_ shouted Rage who seemed extremly pissed off.

Raven was scared and didn't know how to react. Rage's eyes were full of anger but didn't turn red like when he was fighting an enemy.

_"I didn't see much, I sware, everything was actualy blury and I couldn't make out much"._

Realising that he was hurting Raven, Rage let her go and made one step back looking into the ground and put his hands on his head as if it hurt. Actualy, he was trying to deal with a personal problem that no one should know about.

Looking again at Raven he asked her calmly:

_"Please, tell me what did you see. It's very important that I must know"._

Raven retreated a few steps back and was ready to keep Rage away from her even using force if she had to.

_"Like I said, I didn't make out much. I saw a battlefield, ruined cities, dead people, a lab and a women from behind who was walking away. That's all I saw, I swear"_.

Another moment of silence fell between the two. During this time Rage looked oddly at Raven as if she knew his biggest weaknes or something.

_"Look Rage, I want to help. I could help you get these images out of your mind if you would be willing to tell me about where they come from"_ said Raven aproaching her new friend.

Rage turned and headed towards the staircase.

_"You shouldn't have entered my mind Raven"_ said Rage with a hint of disapointment in his voice walking down the stairs.

Upon seeing the garage door Rage knocked and a deep and angry voice shouted: "What? Who is it?".

_"It's me, Rage"_.

Cyborg opened the door and apeared all covered in motor oil.

_"Hey, was'up man! Nice to see you out for a change"_ said Cyborg raising his hand to give Rage a high five.

Rage replied with a slap on Cyborg palm.

_"Yes, I came out to get some fresh air. So what are doing here anyway?"._

_"Just working on the T-Car, changing the oil, waxin' the hood, you know, stuff like that"._

_"Great, need some help?"_ asked Rage who was ofering his services.

_"Actualy ... well ... you see ... she's kind of like my baby and I don't ussualy let anyone work on it"_ said Cyborg a little bit hesitant _"... not like you are not part of the team now you know, but ..."._

_"No need to explain Cyborg, I know what you mean and I understand"_ interupted Rage politely _"Anyway, I wanted to ask you where is the gym situated, I want to work out a little"._

_"Oh, that's what you were here for!"_ said Cyborg releaved _"Go up to the 10'th level and next to the evidence room you'll find the training room"._

_"Okay, I think I've got it. Thanks man, see you later"_ said Rage leaving.

_"By the way, do you know how to work on a car?"_ asked Cyborg curiously.

_"I've worked on even bigger things"_ replied Rage going up the stairs.

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It might seem like I'm centering the story on my OC, but I'm not, I'm only prepareing conditions for BB/Rae romance scenes. You'll see what I mean.


	10. Chapter 6 Part 3

Part 3 - _"I got shot and I killed people"_

In the main room Beast Boy was watching T.V. and chilling out. He forgot about how Rage acted earlier and didn't seem to pay any atention to anything except the screen in front of him. Changing channels like crazy, trying to find something good, BB didn't even notice Raven walking into the room. She sat down on the couch next to him rubbing her shoulders. She felt a little weird about what happened before and didn't go to her room to meditate. Insted, for some strange and unexplained reason, she felt like she wanted to be near Beast Boy.

"Hey there Rae!" said Beast Boy greeting her friend.

Raven didn't return the greeting and didn't even look at the screen, she just kept on rubbing her shoulders lightly. Beast Boy turned to look at her.

"Hey Rae, how come ... Hey! What happened to your shoulder?" said BB noticing Raven.

"It's nothing" she replied talking a little faster than usual.

Beast Boy went next to her trying to be useful.

"Are you hurt?".

"No, I'm okay, I just bumped into Rage on the way here and we ... ".

"Did he do this? Did he hurt you?" replied Beast Boy standing up.

"No ... well actualy yes, but ...".

"That bastard!" interupted the green changeling punching his palm "I have a good mind to go slap him silly and show him how to behave".

BB tried to leave the room and find Rage but just as he turned around Raven took his hand.

"Don't, he didn't mean it" said Raven who was kind of surprised by BB's reaction " ... you see, it was kind of my fault. I told him I saw what he was dreaming, he got angry and took me by the shoulders. He did shake me a little but he let me go quickly".

Beast Boy was furious and wanted to find Rage and have 'a word' with him but seeing Raven he decided to do as she told him.

"Yeah but still! He should know better then to grab a girl like that". After saying this BB sat down next to Raven.

"Maybe he had a good reason to react like that" Raven replied "... who knows, it's probably something that's eating him from the inside and he wants to deal with it him self".

"Maybe. Anyway, if he ever grabs you again like that or harms you, you tell me about it, alright?" said Beast Boy squeezing Raven's hand afectionatly.

Raven felt a little akward and let go of BB's hand.

"I'm tough enough to fend for my self you know, but thanks" she replied smileing back at her friend who realy did seem to care for her in a special way.

As Raven and Beast Boy exchanged looks, the slideing door opened and Robin and Starfire entered the room. It was about 1 P.M. . Robin had his hand around Starfires small waist, holding her gently, as they gazed at each other smileing. Beast Boy and Raven turned their atention to them and were surprised to see them this way.

"Oooh, looks like we have a couple up in here" said BB grining as he was actualy kind of happy to see the two togheter. He long thought that Robin and Starfire would make a good couple.

"Hey there guys" said Robin " ... well yes, me and Starfire finaly admited that we like each other so we came to be close".

"And it is much glorious" replied Starfire "Robin is so interesting and kind and also a good picker of flowers" she said revealing a white rose that was placed above her ear.

"Good for you guys, it's better to admit loving another than keeping it to your selfs" said Raven warmly congratulating her friends.

Starfire blushed seeing that her friends accepted their decision and turned to Robin and kissed him on the lips. She then went to the fridge and got a soda. Robin watched her in all her alien beauty but turned to Raven and Beast Boy.

"So, how did things go around here? Anything new?".

Raven and Beast Boy both remebered about the incident involving Rage but didn't know if it was okay to talk about it.

"Well, actualy, there was something" replied BB a little hesitant.

"What? You finaly beat Cyborg two times in a row at video games?" asked Robin jokeing.

"No, it's Rage" said BB "There's something strange about that dude".

"Did he come out his room yet?" asked Robin curiously.

"Yeah, but hear me out. I went to his room to ask him if he wanted to play some video games and noticed he was smoking and told him that it was bad for him and he just said 'we all have to die some day'. I think he isn't right in the head if you know what I mean" said Beast Boy orbiting his finger around his ear, meaning that he belived Rage was crazy.

"Does this mean that friend Rage has his brain backwards into his cranium?" asked Starfire confused.

"Something like that" replied BB "... So anyway, me and Rage played some video games to pass the time. I beat him several times and started to tease him. We goofed around a little and all of the sudden he get's angry, he grabes me and tosses me over the couch".

"That's strange" replied Robin "Anything else?".

"Yes" said Raven "The same thing happened to me, only he looked really mad, but it was probably my mistake beacuse I told him about reading his dream".

Robin and Starfire looked rather concerned.

"Is he in his room now?" asked Robin.

"No, he's in the training room" replied BB "He probably wants to let some steam out".

"I'll go talk to him" said Robin as he headed towards the door.

"Would you like me to asist you Robin?" asked Starfire.

"Neah, just relax and chill with BB and Raven".

Rage was trainig for about an hour now. He did sit-up's, push-up's, lifted weights etc, and was now exercising on the punching bag. Robin entered the room and saw Rage hiting the punching bag with no gloves on his fists. Rage found a radio and tuned in to a heavy metal station. The volume was turned up to the max. and the music apeared to make Rage hit the bag even more violently. Robin watched Rage train for a moment. He didn't have his shirt on and the sweat was runing down his back like crazy. This reminded Robin of him self and remembered how he would also act like this when he is under a lot of stres. He also noticed that he had three circular scars on his back. Robin turned the volume down so he could greet his new friend seeing how he didn't get to speak to him in two days. Rage turned around surprised to hear the volume go down and noticed Robin.

"Oh, hello Robin, I didn't notice you coming in" said Rage who continued to hit the punching bag.

"Yeah, the music was on to loud" he replied "Hey, do you think you could stop so we can talk" asked Robin politely.

"I have to keep on hiting this bag for another five minutes, but go ahead, I'm listening, I can do two things at once like Napoleon" Rage replied jokeing.

"Yes, well I wanted to ask you about what happened earlier with Beast Boy and Raven. Why did you act like that?".

Rage stoped hiting the bag and turned around to face Robin. The sweat made him look even more muscular than he was, and made the scar on his face look even deeper.

"I guess I should explain why I did what I did" he sounded with a note of regret in his voice "But I can't tell you. It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I can't".

Robin looked at Rage suspiciously. "Look, I'm greatful that you saved Starfire's life and mine as well back there, and I'm sure that you would have done the same if there was any other person in our situation, but I need to know more about you so that I and the others can understand you and help you ... if you need help that is".

"Robin, I understand you are concerned about me but I have a personal problem and I have to face it and deal with it my self" replied Rage who turned around to the punching bag.

"I see, but don't you think that if we helped you then maybe you could get over this problem faster?".

"This problem concerns me and only me. Belive me, I can deal with it. I don't want to distract you from your work".

Robin listened to Rage and remembered about how he acted with his friends and the response he gave him. He felt something wasn't right.

"Rage, are you hideing something from us?" he asked suspiciously "Couse if you are, you should know that it's better we knew about your problem so we don't mess things up".

Rage turned around angry and went next to Robin and showed him the scars on his chest.

"See these" Rage shouted pointing at the scars "These are gun shot wounds. I was a soldier. I got shot and I killed people, I have a lot of things on my consciense and I have a lot of personal problems involving my past that I wish not to speak about".

Robin felt a little embareced and took a step back. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that. But how could you have been a soldier? You don't look older than 18".

"It's an extremly long story and belive me, I really don't want to talk about it" said Rage walking out of the training room.

"Where are you going?" asked Robin afraid that he probably made Rage want to leave.

"I'm going to the roof" replied Rage calmly "Is that place off grounds or something? I really need some fresh air".

"No" said Robin "It's okay, you can go".

"Thanks" replied Rage heading towards the roof top.

"Rage" said Robin from behind "I'm sorry for upseting you, I didn't know".

"No Robin, you do not have anything to apologise for, you just tryed to help me. I am the one that needs to apologise. I'm sorry I yelled and I hope you'll forgive me".

Rage left climbing the stairs up to the roof. Robin went towards the comon room puzzled by Rage's replies.

What was so important that he was hideing? Could it be something critical? Could it endanger the titans? He didn't know any thing for sure but was more than anxious to find out.


	11. Chapter6 Part 4

Part 4 - Starfire's gentle touch

Upon entering the room all the titans turned their atention to Robin. Cyborg was there as well as he finished working on the T-Car and left just as Robin entered the gym and spoke with Rage. Robin walked to the couch and sat down, the expresion on his face was similar to the one he usualy has when he was researching data on one of the titans nemesis.

"So how did it go? Found out anything?" asked Beast Boy.

Robin looked at his fellow team mates and started speaking

"Mostly nothing. He said he couldn't tell me why he reacted the way he did. He said it's a personal problem he has to deal with on his own?".

"And did you find out what this particular personal problem is?" asked Raven.

"Remember the dream Rage had? Well it seems that it wasn't fiction or anything like that, it wasn't something his sub conciense cooked up, those were memories. He told me he was a soldier and that he did things he wasn't proud of. I'm guessing that the war he went to and those memories still affect him".

"Now hold on a minute there" intervined Cyborg "How could he have been a soldier? He doesn't look older than what ... 17 or18? That's imposible!".

Robin was thinking about that same fact on his way in and also didn't understand it.

"I don't know, I tryed to find that out too but he said it was a really long story and he didn't want to talk about it".

The titans were just as puzzled as Robin was when he left the gym.

"Did he also grab you like he grabed me and Raven?" asked BB who sounded a little suspicious.

"Not really, he just stood in front of me showing me his scars and sounding angry. After that he left and I tryed to apologize for trying to interfier in his personal life but he said that he was the one who should apologize for being mad. I have to agree with Beast Boy here, the guy really seems to have a screw lose."

"Seems?" asked Beast Boy rhetoricaly "Dude! I already have doubts that we did the right thing when we decided that Rage should stay with us and become a titan. I mean how can we trust him if he keeps things from us and reacts the way he does?".

"He saved Starfire and me from critical situations" replied Robin a little mad "How many strangers saved us and didn't remain loyal? Even Terra helped us defeat Slade when she could've stayed on his side".

Those last words tore into BB's heart like a rusty dager.

"Don't ever compare Terra to that maniac you understand. EVER!" yelled Beast Boy who jumped up and watched Robin dead in the eyes.

Robin realised then that he did a really big mistake and that BB still had feelings for Terra.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry ... I didn't mean to say that".

BB backed of looking at Raven who felt confused seeing how he reacted when he heard Robin talk about Terra.

"Look, I'm only saying that Rage probably just needs some time to adapt" replied Robin who was still looking at BB "Remember when you and Cyborg helped Raven with her problems ? (refering to what happened in "Nevermore"). You asked us almost the same questions and now you have to admit that it doesn't even cross your mind that Raven could ever betray us and that you couldn't trust her. It's the same with Rage, we have to trust him, and be sure that he trusts us, that's what loialty is all about".

Beast Boy remembered the incident Robin mentioned and felt a little strange. In his heart he loved Raven and admited that what Robin said was true but he still had doubts about Rage.

"Please tell us, where is Rage now?" asked Starfire.

"He's up on the roof, he said he needed some fresh air" replied Robin.

"I will go and talk to him" said Starfire who tryed to levitate to the door but was stoped by her loved one.

"I think he needs some time alone, we shouldn't disturb him".

"But what if he needs to talk to someone? What if he is upset and ... ".

"Star" interupted Robin "If he would have needed to talk to someone he would have already talked to me. Have a little faith, when he'll come to his sences he'll come down".

Robin decided that they should try to feel a little better and try to forget about the whole "Rage incident" so he chalanged BB and Cyborg at video games. Raven went next to the window and pretended to meditate, she felt even more curious then ever and wanted to find out more about Rage's problem so that she could help him. Starfire sat behind the couch and watched as Robin compeated against BB and Cyborg at "Total Space Racer 4". She still couldn't shake of the feeling that she needed to go and talk to Rage so she excused herself, lieing that she had to go to the (quote) "Room of bathing".

After leaving the main room she rushed up the stairs to the roof top. She opened the door that lead to the huge roof of titans tower and saw Rage near the edge. For a moment she thought that he would jump off but something told her that he couldn't be capable of such a thing. He had his left hand behind his back and in his right hand he had a lighted cigarette. He looked peacefull and calm looking at the view in front of him, he didn't seem disturbed or anything. Starfire aproached him and stoped on his left side. She againg observed the scar on her new team mate's face, it seemed to be quite deep and made him look more abrasive.

"Greetings friend Rage, I have come to talk to you for we have not yet had the oportunity to have a proper conversation" sounded Starfire with her sweet and inocent voice.

Rage turned his head to see her. "Oh hi Starfire, I didn't notice you before, how are you?".

"I am fine, and you?" replied Starfire.

"Ehhh, a little edgy, but I am okay now".

Rage continued smoking. The smoke he blew out was disipated by the wind and vanished. Starfire was intrigued by this habit and couldn't help her self asking what it was all about.

"Friend Rage, may I ask what is that you are inhaling?".

"It's a cigarette, St. George, english blend tabbaco".

"I see, is it a type of medicine you must take in order to remain healthy?".

Rage smiled and was a little amused by Starfire's lack of knowledge about tabbaco and it's harmful properties.

"Not quite. In fact it's the exact oposite of medicine, it makes you less healthier and damages your lungs as time passes".

Starfire now looked even more intrigued. "But if it is not good for your health then why do you partake in such an action?".

"Because tabacco is adictive, after you start smoking it slowly makes your body feel the need of inhaling it. I am aware that it is not good for my health but it does have one good side efect, it calms me down and makes me more peaceful, sort of like a sedative if you will".

Starfire didn't completly understand, but just as Robin said, he had his own problems so maybe smoking wasn't so bad for him for the time being. Looking at Rage smoke and looking at the cigarette he was holding she thought it made him look more mature. Of course, she also realised that puting your own health in danger isn't actualy very mature but the fact that he was risking made her curious.

"May I try one of those?" she asked.

"I don't think you'll like it" he replied "Have you ever tryed smoking before?".

"Not quite, but I am most curious of the feeling you obtain after inhaling the smoke".

"I stongly don't recomend smoking to any of my friends, but if you are really that curious then just take a puff out of mine".

Rage ofered her his half finished cigarette. Starfire doubtfuly took the cigarette, but she was curious enough to try. After all, what harm could it do if she only tried once.

"And how do I inhale?" she asked holding the cigarette between her fingers.

"Well you first inhale the smoke out of the cigarette, keep the smoke in your mouth, but not to much, after which you inhale some air slowly and the smoke will enter your lungs and after holding it for a few seconds blow the smoke out. Understand?".

"I guess it is simple".

"But please ... be carefull" Rage replied a little nervous.

Starfire did just as Rage instructed her but after trying to inhale she choked and started caughing. The cigarette fell out of her hand just as she started to caugh her eyes started to form tears. Starfire was discusted by the feeling and the taste. Rage went next to his friend and patted her on the back to make her feel better.

"Are you alright?" he asked sounding concerned.

"I do not understand" she replied still caughing "How is it you do not react the same way that I do?".

"Let's just say you get used to it after a while".

Starfire stood up and noded her head. "To be most honest, it is most disgusting and unsatisfying".

Rage looked like he agreed with her.

"That's why I strongly don't recomend it, just like I do with other substances".

"I observe. But, since when do you smoke?" Starfire asked.

"I started smoking while I was on the battlefield. Me and my comra ..." Rage stoped aware he just said the word 'battlefield', he seemed to be struk by lightning "... Ummm, forget I said that".

Starfire looked at Rage with a bit of compasion. She imediatly knew that his problems where linked with him being an ex-soldier. He turned around and looked a little depresed.

"Friend Rage, you must not be ashamed of being a warrior. A soldier is a proud man who defends what he loves most" she said trying to make him feel better.

Rage turned around and looked at her amazed. "Who said I was a soldier?".

Starfire knew that if she would tell him that she heard it from Robin then he would probably be even more upset so a moment of silence fell between the two.

"Robin told you, didn't he?" he asked.

"No, you do not understand, it was not his fault" Starfire tried to object.

"It's okay Starfire, it's okay. After all, you guys probably want to know more about me so Robin told you what I said in the gym. I understand".

"So, you are not furious?" asked Starfire releaved.

"Not at all, I understand that you are concerned about me so I don't blame him for telling you this".

Rage stood in front of her. After a few moments of silence he started.

"Well Starfire, yes, I was a soldier, a special type of soldier infact. I defended my country, my family, my comarades and fought for what I belive in, but even though I did good I am still not proud of my actions".

"You have killed others?" Starfire asked nervously.

"Yes, but as long as someone threatens what you love most you will do what ever you must to defend it. I do not regret killing my enemies, it's something normal actualy, they were warriors just like me and they died like men, in battle. What bothers me are other things, things I wish not to talk about. You must understand that I have a good reason I do not want to talk about my past actions but be sure that when the time is right, I will tell you all what you wish to hear".

"I understand" Starfire answered feeling sorry for Rage and placing her hand on his shoulder "And be sure that if you ever need support you can always count on me, your friend Starfire".

Her voice was filled with compasion and also with friendship. Rage smiled and his face started to lighten up.

"Thank you Starfire, I'm grateful for your support" he replied while giving her a warm hug.

After they separated Starfire glided towards the stairs.

"Will you not acompany me down the stairs to join the others in the 'hanging out' ?" she asked.

"I will hang around here for a while. I enjoy the view very much. I will come down stairs shortly" he replied.

"I will inform the others" she said as she opened the door.

"Alright. Oh, and Starfire ..." he interupted.

Starfire looked back.

"Don't forget what I told you about those cigarettes" finished Rage winking.

"Do not worry, I have learned the lesson and will also teach others about their harmful properties".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know, Starfire smoking doesn't add up, but I thought it would be interesiting if she tryed. Btw, like I said before, the pairings in this fic are R/S and BB/Rae ... maybe Cy/T-Car (LOL). So I'm not aiming for any Rage/Starfire stuff ... I'm not writing stuff like that.


	12. Chapter 6 Part 5

A/N: Sorry for not updateing in over a week, my brother literaly smashed my laptop like he was churning butter (or something like that) and I couldn't get any work done but I managed to repair it and now I'm back in bussines.

**Part 5 - Between anger and love**

Starfire glided down the stairs being sure of the fact she did much good by talking to Rage. At first he seemed to be much more abrasive, harsh and unfriendly but the truth was that he wasn't such a bad guy after all, he only had issues and didn't want to bother his friends with them.

"Come to think about it" she said to her self "... who does not have personal issues he must confront by him self?".

Robin had an obsesion with Slade, Cyborg with Brother Blood, Raven with her father Trigon, Beast Boy with Terra's death, and Starfire with her sister Blackfire. Thinking about it while heading towards the main room, she agreed that this was an obsesion that Rage had to get rid of by him self just like the others did (including herself) before him.

After entering the room Starfire was asaulted by the worried looks of her friend. The others figured out that she had left to speak with Rage and didn't know what to expect. After asking her what happened on the roof top, Starfire sat down and told them what Rage said.

Starfire understood Rage's situation completly. Robin thought about his own obsesion with Slade and realised they were more or less alike at some level. Cyborg felt a little admiration for his new friend seeing how he didn't want to involve the others in his personal problems thus remaining focused at all time, but couldn't help wondering what his problem was. Raven was even more intrigued, she usualy didn't give to much atention to the personal problems of others knowing from her own expirience that it is beter to deal with these kind of matters alone, but there was something about Rage that made her want to know more about his past; Her interest wasn't necceseraly something logical or emotional, it was some how magnetic, she just wanted to find out more about Rage.

Beast Boy was the only "Thomas" of the group. On one hand he kind of understood his situation but on the other hand he remained doubtfull. Imagining Rage grabing Raven made him mad as hell.

After about an hour and a half since Starfire first entered the main room the titans were still chating about what Rage said, paying atention to any detail that might give them a clue to what Rage's problem is. The titans were in such a deep concentration that the sound of a pin droping on the floor would have probably made them jump.

When the doors slided open and Rage came in looking rejuvinated and more than probably in a good disposition, everybody froze.

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" Rage asked in a friendly and well disposed tone.

The others stared at him with eyes as big as plates and didn't say anything, they only kept thinking about the impresion Rage gave them. Rage stoped in his tracks and watched his friends for a good couple of seconds curious about their behaviour.

"Okay ... This is strange!" he said.

"I'm going to my room" said Raven quikly as she transceded through the ceiling in a black aura.

"What was that all about?" Rage asked suspecting something.

Beast Boy got up and left the room looking straight into Rage's confused eyes. The sight made even Rage take a step back to allow BB to exit.

In the room there were now only four people: Rage, Robin, Starfire and Cyborg. After BB left a moment of silence fell. The atmosphere was quite tense. The titans thought that if Rage knew that they were talking about him he would react in not such a plesant way. Finaly, when they thought Rage didn't suspect anything, he started.

"You were talking about me weren't you?" he asked suspiciously.

Robin, Starfire and Cyborg froze and they almost couldn't speek.

"Us? No, no way, we were ... just ... discusing ... new strategies that's all" Robin replied nervous and with a slight nervous smile.

"Oh come on, I know you were talking about what Starfire told you" said Rage.

The others started to protest and to disclaim loudly the fact that they were speaking about him but Rage interupted yet again moving his index finger near his mouth, the international sign for "please be quiet".

"Look guys, like I told you, I really apreciate the fact that you care about my problem and that you want to help me but I don't wan't you to ocupy your time with this and get distracted and stuff. These problems that I have concern me and only me, and it's not like I'm not gratefull for your support, God knows I am, but the atmosphere here is geting to tense and to nervous and that's not good".

"Wa'cha talking about dog? We're all chillin' here ... heh, there ain't no stres" Cyborg replied with a smirk on his face trying to simulate that everything was fine.

Rage looked around and noticed that Starfire and Robin were listening while Cy was a bit tensed and didn't realise that he was okay now.

"Raven went to her room through the ceiling, Beast Boy walked out looking at me like he wanted to kick my ass, you're nervous as hell, I'm confused and don't understand alot of things ... This is not the way you, quote, 'chill' . I understand Beast Boy and Raven for being angry at me after the way I acted earlier, but the thing is I realised that what I've done was wrong and that I'll never react like that again. We need to losen up and really 'chill' so that everyone will be in top shape if something occurs. When the time is right I'll tell you guys all you need to know about me, I promice, but until then, let's all just 'chill', like Cyborg says".

After saying these words Rage jumped on the couch between Cyborg and Robin. The remote controle hoped into the air and with a swift move of the hand Rage cought it and turned on the big screen T.V.

"Let's see if there's anything good on the television" said he new titan who started to change the channels.

The others became more relaxed. They finaly understood that Rage was right and that they should not interfeer. After buttoning for about 2 minutes Rage finaly found something good.

"I think know this movie ..." he said.

Cyborg looked at a few scenes and remebered that he saw the movie before. "Oh yeah! I remember, it's "Fight Club", Edward Norton and Brad Pitt play in this movie, it's one of my all time fave's you know" he replied looking at Rage.

"A movie like this needs good food to go with" said Robin who was all losened up now.

"I will get the delectables that go with the movie, I am most delighted that we are watching togheter this 'flic', as you sometimes call it" Starfire replied and got up to get the snacks.

"Do not bother Starfire, I'll get those" Rage replied " ... you sit down, get confortable and enjoy the movie".

Rage got up and went to get the snacks. He got a big tub of nachos, a pizza and 3 sodas for his friends.

After the movie ended Starfire and Robin went outside, Cyborg went to the gym and Rage cleaned up the living room. When Rage was finished, he wanted to leave the main room and do something with his spare time, but just as he headed to the door Beast Boy entered and stoped him.

"Whe need to talk" souned BB who seemed a little angry.

He was standing right in front of Rage and squinted his eyes. He planed and timed this just right, he wanted to catch his new friend all alone. Rage realized he was furious with him and took one step back.

"Look, if you're refering to the incident that ocured earlyer I just wan't to say that I am really sorry and I hope that you will forgive me for doing what I did".

Beast Boy grabed Rage by the collar of his shirt, just as Rage did to him that morning, and pulled him next his face.

"Look man, I don't care what you did to me, okay? But if I ever catch you grab or hurt Raven again I'll beat the living day lights out of you. Understand?" replied BB mad as hell.

"I didn't mean to hurt her, honest! I got carried away. I sware that I would never hurt her".

"Good".

Beast Boy let Rage go and still looked at him. He realised that he scared him.

"I'll be on my way now" Rage said trying to leave.

"Hold on" BB said "... don't forget what I told you".

"I won't" he replied " ... by the way, I didn't know that you like her, I guess I upset you preety good ey?".

Beast Boy almost froze after hearing this but kept his cool.

"I-i-i don't, she's my friend, I just wanted to make sure she'll be okay that's all".

Rage turned around and faced BB.

"Look, between you and me, I usualy have a sixth sence about these things and I can sence that you really, really like her. So what's the big deal? From what I understand Robin and Starfire are togheter. Why shouldn't you and Raven have a comitment?".

BB looked at Rage curiously asking him self if he really had the ability to sence things or if what he said was just a figure of speach.

"Dude, it's not that I'm not willing to tell her what I feel, it's just that I don't know if she likes me that way, you know? And I don't want to mess things up".

Rage exhailed out deeply. "I think I know what you meen, but do not worry, you'll get her atention anyway".

"How can you be so sure?" asked BB.

"I'm not, I just feel it" replied Rage smileing.

The new titan went towards the door trying to leave but BB stoped him.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going to Raven. I want to apologise for what I did, seeing how I didn't get the oportuinity yet".

"Just don't tell her what I just said" Beast Boy replied nervously.

"I'll be as quiet as a rock about that mater".


	13. Chapter 6 Part 6

**Part 6 - Jerk!**

Walking through the dim lighted hallway Rage read the tags on every door he passed by: Evidence Room, Infirmery, Robin, Cyborg. He finally arrived at his destination. He stood in front of the door on which there was a sign that read "Raven". He knocked three times and shortly after that, Raven asked from inside.

"Who is it?".

"It's me, Rage. Can I speak to you?".

No response. Rage listened carefully and heard foot steps on the other side of the door. They were heading towards him.

Raven slightly opened the door and Rage could only see half of her hooded face.

"What do you want?" asked the dark teen stresing the word "you".

"Before you close the door please hear me out" said Rage who raised his right hand to the level of his chest and extended his palm up-words " I came to apologise for what happened today, I didn't mean to hurt you, I acted idiotic and I admit that I was a creep".

"Try 'JERK', that word really suits you".

For some reason Raven was not in a very good disposition.

"Actualy, 'Fuck-Head' would be better. I came to bring you my most humble apologies and I hope that you will foregive me for the way I acted and treated you".

"Words are cheap, just like your excuse. Leave me alone" Raven replied furiously.

"I am truly sorry" replied Rage who let his head fall down.

He turned around looking disapointed trying to leave. Raven noticed that he really regreted what he did and that he was telling he truth. She felt strange and somewhat sorry and stoped Rage from leaving.

"Wait Rage" she said smoothly.

The new titan turned around to face her.

"Did you really mean what you just said, that you are sorry and stuff?" asked Raven crossing her hands and eye bows.

Rage looked at her and you could almost read the shame on his face if you were in the position he was standing.

"If you have a Bible bring it and I will swear with my right hand placed above it that what I said was most sinceer".

Raven opened the door widely. She had a book of spells with her that she was reading before Rage came.

"Rage, if what you are saying is true then I forgive you, and I can sence that you are honest seeing how I have telepathtic abilities".

Rage's froun turned up-side down after hearing this. "Those this mean that I am forgiven?".

"Yes, and I'm sorry that I said your words are cheap. Looks like I was mistaking".

"We all make mistakes once in a while" he replied.

The truth was that Raven was in her room thinking about Beast Boy and how he reacted when Robin compared Terra to Rage. For a short while she felt a spiritual bond between her and BB, seeing how he was the only one who showed signs of afection towards her, but seeing him react the way he did made her question herself if Beast Boy had feelings only for her or if he still had feelings for Terra as well. When Rage knocked she was trying to read but she couldn't concentrate on this particular problem and seeing how he interupted her Raven got annoyed.

"Rage, I'd like to ask you something, but I expect that what I say will remain only between you and me, alright?".

For some reason Raven had faith that she could share her thoughts with Rage. She was eager to talk to somebody and even though she was usually more secluded she didn't like the fact she had to hide her feelings.

"Well alright, I guess that would be okay".

Raven invited him inside and Rage took a seat on a small oak chair. She was standing in front of the window but with her eyes closed.

"Rage" Raven started hesitant " If say you had a friend, that is a girl, and say you and her are friends for a long time and you like her and she also shows signs of afection towards you but she still can't shake of the memories of her ex-boyfriend, what would you do so that the two of you will be togheter?".

Even if Raven thought that her new friend didn't know what she was really talking about Rage knew exactly what she was trying to say, even though he didn't know anything about Terra and her relationship with BB. She wanted to find a way to get closer to Beast Boy but seeing how he could still have feelings for Terra she didn't know what to do. Also, she didn't want anyone to know about that, especialy BB.

Rage stood up and crosed his hands behind his back.

"To be honest, seeing how I never met any girl with whom to socialize I don't think I'm the best one to give this kind of advice".

Raven turned around and looked at him curiously. In her opinion it was rather strange that Rage never met any girl with whom to be at least friends, if not more. He was actualy kind of good looking and the scar on his face made him look tougher and she was certain that a girl would be impresed ... after all, she was a girl herself.

"But ..." Rage continued "... seeing how I ussualy think like a rational human being, I guess I could try and answer your question".

Raven realised that Rage said he wasn't the best person to ask for advice but seeing the way she put the problem it would have been preaty obvious to anyone that she needed pointers.

"Okay, tell me" Raven replied.

"Well, if I was in the situation you stated then I would probably try to spend more time with my friend, get intimite, share stories and secrets, thus making our bond even tighter. Then, after me and my friend are really good friends, I mean really really good friends, I would suddenly bring up a discusion about her ex-boyfriend asking her if she still has feelings him, if she still loves him, etcetera, etcetera".

Raven felt like she was talking to a councelor.

"... If she still loves him, I would try to atract her atention towards me, give her a shoulder to cry on, support her in her time of need and after a while she would probably realise that we were ment to be togheter. If she doesn't love the bloke anymore then I would try to tell her how I feel and that it would be a good idea to take our relationship a step further".

Raven smiled and felt a little better. She found out for herself that under the scars and abrasive aperance Rage was somewere deep down inside a kind hearted guy and probably an ol' softy too. She felt like she finaly found someone to talk to and went next to him giving him a warm hug.

Rage was surprised but played along. "Okayy!" he said to him self confused.

After separating Raven looked at him and said "I'm glad we had this conversation".

"Yes, me too. Who knows this could be the begining of a beautifull friendship" said Rage quoting the famous line from the movie Casablanca.

Raven smiled and slightly punched Rage in the shoulder. Rage turned around heading to the door when he remembered something.

"By the way, what's that book you are reading?".

"It's just an old Scytian book of spells. Why do you ask?" she said.

"Just curious" replied Rage who noticed her rather big bookcase. "Hey, do you think I could borow a book?" he asked.

"Sure" said Raven " I'm glad that at least somebody except me reads around here ".

She went to the bookcase and looked around the dusty shelves. "What kind of book would you like to read?".

"Literature or poetry, anything that's good, but not romantic of fairy tale stuff" he replied.

Raven searched through her dusty bookcase but it was almost all full of spell books, incantation and such writings. In one of the corners she found a book she didn'tnotie before, "Le fleurs du mal" by Charles Baudlaire.

"When did I get this book? I never remember having it!" she said to her self surprised by her find.

She turned around and blew the dust of the books cover. "How about this, 'Le fleurs du mal' by Baudlaire?".

Rage took the book and searched around the pages, he seemed very enthusiastic.

"Wow!" he exclaimed "... I've been looking for this book for a long time, this guy writes some really sick poems".

Raven now remembered about the book and the reason she bought it. Rage headed towards the door.

"Thanks for the book Raven, I'm going to read it right away, see you later".

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A/N: Next I'm going to focus on Raven's relationship with Beast Boy, so if you like romance with a hint of violence you should stay tuned.


	14. Chapter 7 Part 1

**Chapter 7 - Black and green**

**Part 1 - 'Food fight'**

After a hard day of training on the obstacle course and in the gym, the titans left to their usual pizza place to eat and hang out. Rage also came along but wared his ski mask. He said he did this so that no one would recognize his face and that he wears it every where when he is outside. The titans sat at the table and checked out the menu and of course, doo to BB's vegetarian type diet Cyborg started an argument.

"The last three times we ordered we ate that vegi-tofu pizza crud. We're haveing extra anchovies and extra cheese this time" said Cyborg confident that he'll be backed up by the others.

"No way, you know I don't do meat and you just want more for yourself. You don't fool me" replied Beast Boy.

"Okay then, super extra anchovies and mega cheese with red hot peppers it is".

Beast Boy jumped up after hearing what Cyborg said and didn't know that Cy was just jokeing and tried to get on his nerves for the fun of it.

"Slow down guys, slow down" intervined Robin "I have some extra cash so everybody can order what they like".

After inspecting the menu thurely a waitres came to take their order. She noticed that Rage was at the table but didn't ask who he was. They each ordered what they liked but when it was Rage's time to order he was just looking at the sky like he was admiring the clouds or something.

"Dudeee" said BB adresing Rage and snaping his fingers in front of his face "...hello, earth to Rage, time to order, ain't cha hungry?".

Rage snaped out of his day dream but didn't know what to order as he didn't check the menu out.

"Umm, let's see now" Rage pondered scratching his head. "I don't know guys? You order for me whatever you think is good".

Beast Boy raised a finger and told the waitres to bring two vegi-pizzas, one for him and one for Rage. After the waitres left Cy looked at BB like he wanted to start another argument.

"Smooth move salad head, how do you know Rage will even like it? What are you trying to do, convert him to vegeterianism?".

"That's okay Cyborg" replied Rage "There's no need to be mad at him, I'm not really a picky eater so I'll eat just about everything".

"Have you ever ate tofu before?" asked Cyborg with a note of good will in his voice.

"No, but I did eat bugs once, how bad could tofu be?".

Cyborg shruged his shoulders, "Okay, just don't say I didn't warn you".

The titans ate and talked being glad that they were spending quality time togheter. Robin sat next to Starfire and BB next to Raven. Everything was going just fine when all of the sudden they noticed people running and heared loud music. They turned their atention to the place they heared the music and noticed no one other than Punk Rocket causing mayhem.

"Who's that?" asked Rage.

"Punk Rocket, an old friend of ours" replied Robin as everyone stood up.

Rage stood up as well but seemed more relaxed. "Do you mean punk as in 'Sex Pistols' and 'The Exploited' punk?".

"Worst, those guys only held concerts, Punk Rocket just likes to cause mayhem".

Rage squinted his eyes while looking at the villain as he was playing his music. Robin tried to call the attack knowing what type of threat Punk Rocket was but Rage went in front of him not leaving Punk Rocket out of his sight.

"Good" replied Rage who had an evil smirk under his mask " ... you guys stay here and eat, I'd like to take care of him my self".

Cyborg intervined after hearing his friend. "Man are you crazy? Maybe you have't noticed but that guys sound can make your ear drums go boom".

"I'm rather aware of that. But please, let me handle him, I know you haven't had a chance to fight for a week now but please let me handle him, just this once. Look, if I fall down two times or if I get seriously hurt then you can help me. What do you say?".

Robin looked at Rage and smiled "Okay, but just this once".

"Thanks chief!" replied Rage who jumped down and went towards the musical criminal.

Punk Rocket was playing his music louder than usual, it seemed like he desperatly needed an audience. Rage stoped 15 yards away from him.

"Hey punk!" he shouted.

After hearing someone calling him out Punk Rocket turned around. His spiked hair looked like knvies in the afternoon light.

"That's Punk Rocket to you mate" he replied angry.

"What ever. Look, I'm asking you nicely to give me your guitar and leave. Now please hand it over".

Punk Rocket couldn't help him self from laughing franticly and almost falling down. He found Rage's threat as being amuseing and at the same time pityful.

"Hahaha. You're funny you know that? You could very well be the next sensation after Rowan Atkinson".

Rage's eyes started to turn red but he tryed to keep his cool.

"I was not jokeing, now please give me your guitar or I'll take it from you by force" he replied while starting to walk towards him.

"Make one step further and I'll blow you out you're boots" threatend Punk Rocket.

Rage kept walking towards him and was now five yards away. Punk Rocket played a note on his modified electric guitar that pushed Rage back a bit.

"That is pathetic. Is that all you got?".

"Ha!You'd wish" replied the villain who turned up the volume to 6. He played another note and this time he made his oponent lose his balance.

Rage's eyes turned blood red and he went on the attack. Punk Rocket played another note but couldn't stop Rage who grabed him by the throat and threw him into a wall makeing him drop his guitar. He then took the musical instrument and snaped it like a twig.

"My lovely!" screamed Punk Rocket "You'll pay for what you did to my lovely".

Punk Rocket stood up and furiously ran towards Rage punching him in the face. After hiting him he realised he made a big mistake. Rage turned his head and moved it to make it crack. He looked at his oponent like a maniac. Punk Rocket started to be afraid and the terror soon got hold of him.

"BOO!" yelled all of the sudden Rage making Punk Rocket panic and run into the wall by mistake.

"You tried to hit me ey?" asked Rage " Come here!".

Rage picked up Punk Rocket from were he was standing and threw him into the wall he first ran into. For the next ten minutes Rage didn't stop hiting, punching, throwing and kicking Punk Rocket into submision. After beating him he got hold of Punk Rockets arm and twisted it. A snap sounded and the villain droped to the ground in pain.

"Ahhh! You broke my arm you bloody wanker".

"And that wasn't even half of what I can do".

The rest of the team was now behind Rage observing him. They all thought that breaking someones arm is very unpleasnt but seeing how Punk Rocket deserved it they didn't protest.

"Next time I ask something be sure to do it" said Rage to his adversary who was now limping. He kicked Punk Rocket in the behind with his steel toed combat boot and told him to scram.

After seeing what happened the titans let Punk Rocket go. After all, he had a broken arm which suited him just fine.

"How is it that you were not harmed by the sound of the Punk Rocket's musical instrument?" asked Starfire.

"Yeah" intervined BB " You must have more wax in your ears then I've ever had. Tell me, what's your secret?" asked the changeling grining.

"After you sit next to an artilery batery and shell the hell out the enemy for five hours straight you get used to sounds like these" replied Rage.

"But still, that type of sound should have afected you even slightly" said Raven.

Rage smiled and laughed, "To me, that sounded just like a bad mixer with spoons in it".

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BB/Rae fans will love this chapter, I'm sure of it! ;)


	15. Chapter 7 Part 2

A/N: This part will seem a bit Rage centered but there is a reason to it for I'm trying to get him out of the action and focus on BB and Raven. This part takes place in Raven's caffe where she meats the guy with whom she hanged out in "Sisters" but I fogot his name from the comic book so I just used the name Steve. Sorry.

**Part 2 - Raven's caffe**

After defeating Punk Rocket, the Titans started walking through the city not doing much except talking. At about 7:30 P.M. Robin and Starfire left the group to see a movie togheter. After about 10 minutes Cyborg also left, heading down to Mike's Auto-Shop to pick up the new rims he ordered for the T-Car.

"So what do you feel like doing comarades?" Rage asked his friends seeing how they should enjoy themselfs as well.

Beast Boy who wanted to get closer to Raven suggested to go to the amuzement park but Raven and Rage didn't seem so keen on this idea.

"Do you know any good places where we could go Raven?" asked Rage.

"Well, sort of, but I don't think you guys will like it" replied Raven, refering to the depresing caffe she usualy hanged out.

"Come on, try us!" replied Rage.

Beast Boy grabed Rage and excused him self "Umm ... one moment Rae. Rage can I have a word?".

"Sure" he replied.

After taking a few steps backwards Beast Boy wispered in Rage's ear, "Dude, what are you trying to do? Did you ever see where she hangs out?".

"Not really" Rage replied.

"The only places she hangs out are the book store and a depresing caffe where we'll probably be going right now".

"And may I ask what is wrong with that?" asked Rage.

Beast Boy looked at him curiously like he didn't know what to answer. "You see, I'm more of a fun loving guy than an emo-goth kid, I like to unwind and stuff, not get depresed and isolate my self afterwards".

Rage put his hand around BB's shoulder as a gesture of friendship. "Look Beast Boy, I think I know what you mean, but hear me out. Life is not all about fun and what-not's, but you probably already know that, happines is not the only feeling that exists on earth you know, there is also sadnes and other not so pleasnt emotions. You see, I think Raven is the type of person who probably is into stuff like that".

BB replied "I know dude, and that's what makes it hard for me to get close to her".

"So this is your chance to get to know her better. What other way to get closer to someone than hanging out with her more do you know?".

Beast Boy finaly understood what Rage meant. Wha the meant to say was that in order to win her heart he should get to know her life style and understand her way of life.

BB smiled and turned around. "So where's that place you were talking about earlier?" he asked Raven sounding interested.

Raven looked somewhat enthusiasted that Beast Boy finaly wanted to hang out with her no matter the place, no matter the people. She didn't show her emotions though, she had to keep a reputation.

They walked a couple of blocks and arrived at Raven's depresing caffe. It was situated in the back of a dark alley and had a sign that read "Souless Destination". They went in and at the entrence Raven was greatend by a sloutchy looking fellow. He had black hair styled in an emo way and a depresed face that lacked any sign of life, a shirt with a ghost on it and a soaking posture.

"Hey Raven, long time no see, how'd you been?" asked the one who greated her.

"Eh, I'm okay Steve, how about you?".

"Still worthless and thinking about new ways to commit suicide ... By the way, who're they?" Steve asked looking at Beast Boy and Rage.

"Oh, they're my friends, they wanted to see the place" Raven replied.

"Oh okay, well have a good time, I'm going home to stare at the ceiling or something".

Steve was the one that Raven talked to when Starfire was attacked by the Centauri police drones who confused her with Blackfire. After that night they regulary met at the "Souless Destionation" caffe and kept in touch.

The caffe was more of a combination between a caffe and a pub. They had tables and a stage from which people would read depresing poetry on open mic nights, dark corners and a lot of pictures of goth, emo and black metal bands ans artists on the walls. Needles to say, BB wasn't in his element but Rage didn't seem to be distrubed by the place at all. They sat at the bar counter waiting for someone to take their order. The music that was playing would have made even a buddhist put a noose around his neck.

"Hey Raven, haven't seen you here in a while, glad to have you back" said a medium size muscular guy with long black hair and a bandana around his head.

"Nice to see you too Morris, anything new happened around here lately that I should know about?".

"Not much, but I've heard that Lyna is now in a mental institute for trying to slit her wrist again, but it's just a rumor. I see you came with some friends" Morris replied.

"Oh yeah, Morris this is Beast Boy and Rage, guys ... Morris".

After introductions Morris took their order.

"I'll have the usual, thanks" said Raven.

"I'll have a coke" said Beast Boy who tried to get into the mood.

"What about you ... umm, Rage was it?" asked Morris.

"Yes. I'll have a beer, a cold one" Rage ordered.

Morris looked at Rage with suspicion. "You know" he said " ... in this state drinking under 21 is forbiden and frankly, you don't seem older then 18".

Rage stood up and took of his mask revealing his deep scar. "Seriously, do I look 18 to you?" Rage asked pointing at his grotesque scar.

His eyes expresed impatience and even an older man like Morris exused him self. "Sorry man, I guess you're right" he said defensevly " ... comming right up".

Morris left to get the three their drinks. Seeing how neither Raven or Beast Boy knew Rage's exact age they looked at him curiously. Rage put his mask back on and looked around the caffe which was full of people hoping that nobody was paying any attention to him. After taking a look around he turned to his friends who were looking at him.

"What?" asked Rage curiously unableto understand why his friends were stareing at him.

Beast Boy managed to speak. "Dude, we don't know much about you, not even your real name, and we know that it bothers you if we get in your bussines, but ... how old are you any way?".

Raven observed the two and wanted to see how Rage would react to BB's question. She didn't expect Beast Boy to work up the guts to ask Rage his age, seeing how the other was instable when it came to personal questions.

"Between us, I'm actualy 18, but I look older to most people so it helps sometimes".

After hearing Rage was only 18 they couldn't belive it. They started asking their selves if Rage's 'soldier past' was in fact even real but before they could say anything Morris came back with their order.

After cheering for friendship the three started talking about all sorts of stuff like movies, music, food, the place they were in, etc.

Everything was going smoothly. BB even got to like the place and started taping his foot to the otherwise depresing music. Raven noticed and even though she was usualy not impresed by BB's behaviour, she felt like he was really geting into the mood and understanding her way of living. A seed of light and hope was now planted inside her usualy dark soul.

Beast Boy couldn't stop looking at Raven. He understood that he would have to start understanding her if he wanted to win her heart so he focused more on the depresing atmosphere and didn't say one cracking joke. Even so, he couldn't stop asking him self one thing:

"Look at her.Her dark eyes, her black hair, her fair features ... How could something so beautifull be so sad all of the time?"

Rage sometimes intevined in the discusion but mostly let BB and Raven talk so that they could get to know each other a little better. From time to time he would look around and take a sip from his beer. He seemed to be day dreaming most of the time.

After about an hour of talking Rage excused him self for he had physical needs he had to atend to and asked Raven where the restroom was. When he got there he opened the door and observed fout men harasing somebody. He quietly closed the door and went forward. He heard them cursing and also heard what he thought was a girl moaning from pain. The people out side couldn't hear her because of the loud music so he realized he got there in time to stop something that might have turned out bad.

"What's going on here?" Rage yelled clinching his fist.

The four men who were startled by Rage's interuption turned around to face him. They all had long and untidy black hair and wore black cloathes with different satanic markings on them. Their victim was a young girl who they were trying to rape. She had her mouth covered with duck tape and her hands tied behind her back. The four molesters didn't even get to take one of her cloaths off and were mad thinking that the new comer would try to confront them but noticing his black shirt and mask they asumed that he was one of theirs.

"Look man, this chick is wearing a cross and a Virgin Mary bracelet. You know what that means ... " said one of the agresors with a devilish grin on his face.

Rage took out from underneith his shirt his small wooden crucifix thus trying to provoke them.

"No, in fact I don't get it you sick bastards. Now let the girl go or else I'll have to kick your satan-worshiper wanabe's arses all the way back to hell".

After hearing this the four rapeists took out a blade and attacked Rage forgeting about their victim. Rage easily took down each one of them through simple martial art techniques and took their weapons. During the fight, Rage didn't notice but he was cut on his left upper arm, and even if the wound was shallow it still bled making a small line of blood trickle down his arm down on the floor. After taking down his opponents Rage started stomping each one of them full of hate. As an orthodox christian he hated satanists and was fed up with their behaviour thus explaining his contradictory hatefull reaction.

When he stoped stomping them Rage took off all of their cloathes and threw them out a small window in the back of the restroom. He unwraped the young girl who was crying and terrified because of what happened to her. The girl was actualy rather preaty. Brown hair, blue eyes, smooth skin and nice curves (throw in a horse, a body armor and a gown and the scene could well have resembled a fairy tail).

He placed his hand behind her neck and lifted it up trying to calm her down.

"It's okay now, it's okay. They can't hurt you anymore" said Rage trying to calm her down.

The girl lunged into his arms and soaked him with her tears. Rage stroked her hair and told her everything was okay. He looked at her and whiped of her tears as a sign of compasion. They stood up and looked at the four criminals who were lyeing out consciense and almost butt naked on the bloody floor.

"Did they do anything bad to you?" asked Rage checking the four for weapons and kicking them from time to time.

"No" the frightened girl mumbled " ... I was, I was just ... trying to go to the bathroom when ... they took me ...by force here and covered my mouth and tied me up ... Thank God you arrived on time".

"What's your name?"

"My name is Jesse"

"Good. Well Jesse, it would be much safer if we would get you home right now, what do you say?"

"I'm scared of walking alone ... I don't think I can ... "

Rage took Jesse's hand trying to give her some confidence.

"Dont' worry Jesse, I will acompany you to your home so that nothing unpleasnt will happen again, alright?" Rage asked with a tone full of kindnes in his voice.

"Okay ... but ... what about them?" asked Jesse pointing at her attackers.

"We'll inform the police from a public phone right after we get out of here. I just hope I have some spare change" he replied taking Jesse outside.


	16. Chapter 7 Part 3

**Part 3 - Thank you **

Melancholic music, a dark and dim lighted bar, people looking more dead then alive ... what a sight! Most of these things aren't usually 'healthy' for a normal person and by far they surely aren't the characteristic of a date. Even so, with all the dark and black themed surroundings, Beast Boy and Raven didn't even seem to be bothered by what was around them. They were getting to know each other better by the minute, and with every minute that passed the feeling that they were both experiencing was getting even more intense.

The feeling was so unknown and obscure but at the same time so pleasure full for Raven, and for Beast Boy it was something that he hadn't felt for a long time. They were so caught up in the moment that they didn't even notice that Rage had left for about fifteen minutes with someone.

All of the sudden, the music stopped and four officers of the Jump City P.D. entered the café. At first, Raven and BB thought that they came in to check on every ones I.D's to see if the bar personnel was selling alcohol to minors but when the officers went into the men's restroom they remembered that Rage was suppose to be there.

"Oh no, Rage!" said BB getting up from his seat worried that his friend might had done something wrong.

"I hope he didn't do anything stupid" replied Raven getting up as well.

The two walked towards the restroom to see what had happened and observed the police officers taking out four almost naked and badly beaten up men. They both knew Rage did it and wanted to go there to help him but before they could advance any further a voice called from behind.

"Raven, wait, I want to have a word with you!"

It was Morris, he seemed to be displeased by the fact that the police officers came in. Raven was sure that Rage got her into trouble.

"Morris, what's happening?"

"Look for yourself, these four guys tried to rape Jesse but fortunately they were stopped, good thing you're friend was here" he replied.

"You mean Rage? What did he do? I'm sorry for what happened, he's kind of unstable and ... "

"Slow down Raven" interrupted Morris rising his hands " ... nothing happened. Like I said, those guys tried to rape Jesse and your friend saw them and saved her. I have to thank him one day, tell him that he's always welcomed around here".

Beast Boy sighed and was relieved that nothing bad happened but still wanted to go and see where Rage was.

"By chance you wouldn't know where Rage is would you? Is he still in the restroom?" asked BB.

"Oh!" exclaimed Morris "I almost forgot, Rage was the one that told me to call the cops, and also told me to tell you that he was taking Jesse home and that you guys should continue having fun. He said he was going to take Jesse home and that he'll be okay".

Raven and Beast Boy left the "Soulless Destination" café. They didn't know it, but Rage also did another good thing besides saving Jesse, he also gave them the opportunity to be alone and get more intimate.

"So, where do you feel like going?" asked Raven who didn't feel like heading back home.

BB pondered for a second. "Hmmm, how about the park? We can walk around and talk some more. And besides, the view of the bay is really nice at night. What do you say?"

Raven accepted his proposal and they started to walk towards the park where they usually hang out in the week-end. She was getting a little giddy. She felt that BB wanted to tell her something, something important that would make the feeling she was experiencing total. She tried to get a grip on her self and control her emotions.

It was 9 o'clock and outside the sun just set, the moon was full and any once in a while it would be crossed by a silver line of clouds that looked like spirits of the night. The park was not as full as it was during the day, but from time to time you could hear the voices of young couples enjoying a romantic night out.

Beast Boy and Raven walked on the paved sidewalk that was radiating because of the heat during the day. As if it weren't enough, because of the emotions they were both getting hotter. Even so, the two only concentrated on talking being careful not to say anything stupid.

"So how did you like the place?" said Raven

"Well, it was actually interesting" replied Beast Boy who tried not to joke.

"Really? I didn't think you would like it, or are you just trying to be a gentlemen?" asked Raven suspiciously.

"No really, I think it's very interesting" replied BB "Until today I thought that life was all about fun and enjoying yourself but there was something in that café that made me remember that sadness and loneliness are also a normal part of life."

"Well that's how life works, sometimes it's great, other times it could be a real drag"

"If that's the case, how do you live your life Raven?"

"What do you mean?" asked Raven who stopped in her tracks. She didn't expect to be asked such a question, especially by Beast Boy of all people.

"From what I've noticed you're very lonely and usually like to isolate yourself in your room. I can't understand why you would do that. I mean, you're funny, you're special, you're a good friend and ... you're really beautiful. To be honest, I'm confused".

Raven realized that BB was trying to get closer and she actually liked the idea. She also noticed that he was trying to make her feel better about her self. She smiled and tried to reply but heard someone from behind yelling out her name.

"Raven? Is that you? We have to talk!"

She grabbed BB by the hand holding on to him tight and went off in a rush. BB didn't get it, it was the first time she took his hand in such a way.

"What's happening?"

"Nothing, just keep on walking, I'll tell you later" she said quickly, looking behind from time to time.

They walked this way for a good couple of yards, not saying a word, but heard someone running behind them calling for Raven. All of the sudden, the one that was chasing Raven appeared in front of them. He was tall, dark, with long blond hair and was well built.

"Hey Raven, what are you running away from? Didn't you hear me? ... Who's this?"

Beast Boy didn't like the guy one bit, but tried to introduce himself and talk like civilized people but Raven interrupted.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone Phill. We're done, I don't care about what you want to tell me anymore, so stop following me!" she replied bumping him out of the way and dragging BB after her.

"Just talk to me already, I'm really getting sick of chasing you and I had it up to here with your fits" said Phill grabbing Raven by the arm and pushing Beast Boy back.

"Let me go you creep!" said Raven as she tried to release herself from Phill's grasp.

Seeing this remembered BB about how Rage grabbed and shook her. Needles to say, he was extremely pissed off to see this happen and with no warning he punched Phill in the face making him go down like a rock. Raven went next to BB and held on to him whilst Phill got up trying to recover from Beast Boy's swift punch.

"So who are you suppose to be squirt?" Phill asked while he searched his back pocket "... her new boyfriend?"

"And what if I am? You don't act like that to Raven, okay?! When she says she doesn't wanna talk to you she means it" replied BB who was ready to jump at Phill's neck and brake it.

Raven never felt as protected as she did during this warning that BB gave. She sensed that the feeling she was experiencing was almost at it's peak. She felt stranger then ever but she liked it and didn't want to stop but unfortunately Phill's presence was ruining everything.

"Come on Gar ... let's just leave, please" sounded Raven with a peaceful voice. She knew that BB was over protective with the ones that he cared for and would have probably kicked Phill's ass badly if the other tried anything funny.

Beast Boy complied and tried to leave the scene but he knew that Phill had something up his sleeve and assumed he had something in his back pocket seeing how he was searching it.

"Yeah right!" said Phill from behind "... go and waste your time with that tramp, you moron."

Beast Boy's neurons snapped ... nothing Raven said could stop him now. He went straight for Phill's neck but just as he tried to grab a hold of him, his adversary waved a dagger and tried to hit him. The dagger had runal markings on the handle and was also covered in dry blood, a sign that it had been used before. Beast Boy took a few steps back trying to avoid the dagger blows but Phill continued his attack. When he got close, Phill tried to stab BB but he dodged his hit grabbing him by the hand and making him drop his weapon. He then tried to take him down but the fact was that Phill was taller and stronger than BB when he was in human shape, so realizing he can't do much in this conditions he morphed into a gorilla. When Phill saw Beast Boy change right in front of him he was shocked and almost 'went' in his pants, but even if he was scared he still tried to attack him. Unfortunately for him though his efforts were to no avail, he angered BB so much that he just wouldn't stop smashing him.

This went on for a good couple of minutes during which BB gave Phill a beating he would never forget for the rest of his life. He stopped punching and kicking only when Raven intervened.

"Beast Boy stop!" begged Raven who stood a few feet away"... please, just let him go, he had enough".

Beast Boy wanted to punish his adversary for what he said, but did as Raven asked him. He grabbed a hold of Phill and threw him in the bay and took his dagger for safe keeping.

"Let this be a warning, the next time I catch you acting like that with Raven I'm going to finish what I started" shouted BB as he morphed back into his human form addressing a surfacing Phill.

"Come on Rae, let's get out of here" said BB taking Raven by the arm gently.

Whilst walking away, Raven embraced BB's arm and kissed him on the cheek whispering into his ear a quiet but sweet "Thank you".


	17. Chapter 7 Part 4

**Part 4 - Garfield and Rachel**

Beast Boy and Raven were walking along close to the bay holding hands affectionately. The full moons rays were reflected by the surface of the ocean, the stars were twinkling, the seagulls were flying above like little cupids and there was a gentle and refreshing breeze in the air that brought with it the salty yet pleasure full smell of the seas. The place and the timing were just right for what Beast Boy had in mind.

The two sat down on a bench over viewing the bay. Raven took of her hood and enjoyed the breeze while BB admired her beauty.

"Thanks again for teaching that creep a lesson Garfield" said Raven addressing BB by his real name "I thought I'll never get rid of him".

"Don't mention it Rachel, I would have done much more for you if it was the case" replied BB also addressing Raven by her real name "By the way, who was that Phill dude and what did he want from you?"

Raven sighed and tilted her head "Well, remember when Steve and Morris said they hadn't seen me for a while at the cafe?"

"Uh-huh"

"That's because I was avoiding Phill. You see, after we defeated Trigon and the Brotherhood of Evil things got slow, the criminal rate decreased and there was not much to do. Because of my father I am half demon, and during the time I was awaiting for the prophecy to fulfill I was isolating my self so that I wouldn't have to much contact with the world."

"But why?"

"My feelings were dangerous and powerful. If say I loved someone more then life its self Trigon would have known and he would have targeted that person to kill him."

"Now I understand" replied BB who was listening to every word with a high interest.

"So anyway, after we defeated Trigon I became free, I could feel any sensation as long as I kept it from acting out in an energy form so seeing how I didn't have much to do I tried to experience other feelings as well ... feelings I have always been curious about".

Beast Boy got closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You mean feelings like ... love?" asked BB.

"Exactly, but I've chosen the wrong guy. I knew Phill for a long time, I mean I usually saw him in the café but I didn't want to interact with him, but after the incident with Trigon I was so curious that I finally spoke with him and we kind of had a relationship that lasted for a month."

"So what happened between you two? Why did you split up?"

"He tried to take advantage of me. He was always telling me how much he loved me, how he liked me even before we spoke and I believed him. One night we were at his place trying to unwind and he started touching me up the leg. I didn't feel comfortable so I told him that I never done anything like that before, but he wouldn't listen, he just kept on going so I had to fight him off of me and since then I've been avoiding the café or any other place I knew he frequently visited".

"That pervert! I'm so glad you made the right decision Rae, I'm glad he didn't hurt you that way" said BB as he kissed her on the forehead.

Raven hugged BB and a tear formed in the corner of her eye. "Oh Gar, you're so good to me and I've always been acting so badly towards you. How can you like me after everything I did and said about you?"

Beast Boy was kind of surprised to find out that Raven knew he liked her, but he thought of this rather as an advantage then a disadvantage. He lifted her head and stared in her beautiful dark blue eyes. After whipping away her tear he gently curesed the soft skin of her cheeks.

"Raven, you know I like you, and you know I would do anything for you just to see that you're okay and happy"

"That's not true" replied Raven who pushed BB back a bit "You don't like me, you still love Terra and don't try to deny it".

"What are you talking about? That was ages ago".

"I saw how you reacted when Robin compared Terra to Rage, you jumped up like you were offended. Admit it, you know she's still alive and you're still thinking about her".

Beast Boy took Raven in his arms and it seemed that he wouldn't let her go for anything in the world. Raven followed Rage's instructions and brought up the Terra topic just like he told her she should do, but the fact was that she didn't really know if BB still had feelings for her or not. She was confused and disorientated. She was afraid that they will never be together because of Terra.

"Raven look at me, please look at me!" said BB as Raven turned to face him "Look, I thought I loved Terra when she was a part of the team. We had a special bond and when she sacrificed her self and turned to stone I felt really really strange, not in the sense that I've lost someone dear to me, but I asked my self if I really did love her. When I saw that she was alive, I was shocked and tried to make her remember about me and what we had going on but she didn't, that's when I searched my self and looked inside my soul and do you know what I found out?"

"What?" asked Raven with the feeling that things were going on the right track.

"I realized that Terra and I were not meant to be lovers, I realized that Terra was nothing more then a crush so I got over it"

"So why did you act like that when Robin mentioned her?"

"Terra is still close to me and I still consider her a good friend and comparing her to Rage kind of upset me. And if it wasn't for her, I might have never liked you Rachel"

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the time after we lost Terra? You were he one that always stood next to me and cheered me up, you were the only one that understood me, you were the one that cared for me and since then I've fallen for you. I can't think of a world with out you Rachel, it just wouldn't be the same"

Raven's face lightened up, she was expecting BB to say the words she wanted to hear.

"I know you can sense that what I'm saying is true, and I don't know if I'm doing the right thing but I have to tell you something and I hope you feel the same way that I do".

"Yes? Tell me!"

"Rachel ... I love you, I don't know if you feel the same way about me but I feel that I can't live without you - "

When she heard this Raven felt like she was melting. It was the most wonderful feeling she had ever experienced and she sensed that BB was sincere. Beast Boy wanted to say something more but Raven put a finger over his mouth.

"Beast Boy ... I love you too" replied Raven as she leaned in.

BB and Raven leaned in for their first kiss. When their lips touched and pressed over each other the moment was much more than magical, it was out of this world. They didn't notice it, but they were surrounded by a white aura during their kiss. For a while, they became one and the same person.

After they separated they were still holding hands and they had their noses touching.

"You really are sweet Rachel" said BB

"Me? I always thought I was sour"

Beast Boy kissed her again as if he tried to taste her lips. "Mmm ... looks like you're wrong, you're as sweet as honey".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some say corny but I think BB would really act like that, at least that's my opinion.


	18. Chapter 7 Part 5

**Part 5 - 'Studs'**

Time: 11:00 P.M.

Location: Titans Tower - Main Room

After picking up the rims and various other accessories for the T-Car, Cyborg was in the kitchen making himself the most humongous sandwich he's ever eaten. Robin and Starfire were sitting on the couch in the common room sweet talking each other and making out while watching a romantic movie.

Of course Cyborg wasn't in the mood for such a movie seeing how he was more of an action-flick fan, but he decided to hang around as he didn't have anything better to do.

At about 11:10 P.M. the movie Starfire and Robin were watching ended and the fresh couple just sat around talking. Cyborg joined them and the atmosphere got really hilarious as Cyborg was in the mood for jokes.

11:30 ... after laughing like crazy at Cyborg's jokes, the three titans heard someone coming in. They turned their attention to the sliding door to see who it was and to their astonishment, they saw Beast Boy and Raven walking inside holding hands. Needles to say they were all rather perplexed. They never thought that Beast Boy or Raven would have something for one another and this caught them by surprise. They knew they argued a lot and didn't get along so much, but never would have they imagined that the two would become so close.

_"_Oooh ... looks like we have a couple up in here_"_ said Robin repeating what Beast Boy said just two days before when he saw him and Starfire holding hands.

BB and Raven remained in the same position they were in and kissed without saying anything to the others so that there wouldn't be any doubt about their commitment. The others just watched and couldn't believe it.

"Robin" said Cyborg with his eyes and mouth wide open

"Yeah?"

"Tell me I'm not drunk and that what I'm seeing is real"

"What you are observing is quite real Cyborg" replied Starfire. She didn't think of this as something curious or strange, instead she was happy for the new couple and flew up next to them.

"Is it true, you have a love commitment that you have both agreed upon?"

Raven turned red and closed her eyes as she spoke. "Yes Star, we love each other" she replied as she hanged on to BB.

At that moment Starfire just shreeked with happiness and jumped up.

"Eeeeek ... This is most glorious Raven. Come, you must tell me everything about what happened" said Starfire yanking her best friend out of the room and into hers so that they could talk.

Beast Boy didn't seem to be bothered and just went to the fridge, got a soda and jumped on the couch between Cyborg and Robin. He was playing it cool but knew that his friends will ask him what went on.

"So ... you, Raven, kissing ... what's the deal? Who lost a bet to who?" asked Cyborg thinking that this must be some kind of a joke.

"No bets compadre, me and Rachel really like each other, just like Robin loves Starfire and the other way around. And to be honest I don't care about what you think. As long as me and Raven are happy that's all that matters." replied BB who thought that his friends will make fun of him.

"But how come we never noticed anything going on between you and her? Since when are you guys going steady?"asked Robin.

"Me and Raven liked each other for a long time but didn't want to admit it. Today after you guys left, Rage, me and Rachel went to her café where I got to know her better and understand her"

"And how is it that only today we see you two love birds holding hands?" asked Cyborg.

"Let's just say that the timing and the place were just right for what I had in mind. Today I told her how I felt and she just melted. Wow ... what a girl!" replied BB who played the confident one and laid back placing his feet on the table in front of the couch.

At that moment the door slide open and Rage came in panting for air. _"_Man this city is big, next time I'm taking a cab" he said as he took a glass and poured some water.

Beast Boy noticed him entering and forgot about what he was talking about. He went next to him in a hurry.

"Dude, what the heck went on back there?"

Rage drank the water he had and sighed for a moment. "Some bastards tried to harm this girl named Jesse, so I stopped them" replied Rage taking out a small photo of the girl he rescued and showing it to BB.

"What are you talking about?" asked Robin and Cyborg.

"Like you heard, four guys were trying to rape this girl and I stopped them. Then I took her home and she gave me this picture of her".

The boys looked at the picture BB was holding. It was the picture of a young girl sitting in the shade of a tree and smiling. In their opinion the girl was really beautiful and they were sure that Rage had a girl friend now.

"Hey look!" exclaimed BB " On the back there's a phone number and a message"

"What does it say?" asked Cyborg

"For my 'Knight in shining armor, call me when you can and we'll go out for a drink sometime" said BB reading out loud the message on the back of the photo.

"Ha ha ... Rage you stud!" said Robin slightly punching Rage in the arm "... look's like you have some charm of your own after all"

Rage took of his mask and the sweat was trickling down his neck. He whipped his forehead and stood up right. "Maybe or maybe not, but that doesn't matter. I found the photo as I was heading towards the tower. She must have slipped it in my pocket when I wasn't looking".

"And why do you say that it doesn't matter?" asked BB waving the picture in his face.

"It doesn't matter because I'm not going to call her".

The others were surprised by Rage's answer. If they were in Rage's place and didn't have a girlfriend, they surely wouldn't have passed out an opportunity like this.

"Really? Why is that?" said BB

"Because I just don't want to"

Beast Boy squinted his eyes and looked at Rage raising an eye brow. "Dude, the girl is mighty fine, she's really pretty and seems to like you a lot, mister 'Knight in shining armor' " said BB "I have only one question, do you like girls or are you more into -"

The changeling was interrupted by a shocked and angry Rage.

"**BEAST BOY WHAT THE HELL!?!**" he shouted "I'm Christian, I'm not gay. I hate those degenerates, don't ever say that again man. Jesus Christ!"

Beast Boy took a step back being embarrassed that he assumed Rage 'didn't like girls'.

"Okay, okay man ... I'm sorry for thinking that, but it still doesn't explain why you would pass off such a hot chick like Jesse".

Rage took out a cigarette from his pack and lightened it up blowing the smoke out up-wards. From what Starfire told the team this would have probably meant that he was trying to relax, so they assumed that he didn't take BB's gay-joke so well.

"I don't want to turn her down" Rage started "I mean what the heck, just look at her, she's beautiful, but my professional training has taught me that mixing romance with business isn't something good"

"Business? What does he mean by business?" said Robin to him self.

"And besides ... " Rage continued as he was holding his cigarette and starring at the ceiling like he was day dreaming again " I'm to occupied with the mission to have a relationship and tha ... - "

Rage suddenly stopped speaking and his expression changed from what seemed to be day dreaming to an expression of panic. He almost dropped his cigarette and seemed to clinch his teeth a little as he now looked at his team mates with a nervous look in his eyes.

"What did you say?" asked Robin rushing Rage.

"What mission? What do you mean by _mission_" also asked Cyborg.

"Errr, forget I said that" said Rage as he turned around trying to leave.

Robin grabbed Rage trying to stop him from leaving the room. He needed some answers.

"Wait a minute Rage! We clearly heard the word _mission_. What did you mean by that? What are you hiding?"

Cyborg and BB stood back knowing how Rage reacted before. Instead, Robin was holding his wrist tight not letting him go but contrary to what everyone thought Rage just pulled back and went out the door running.

"Rage get back here! We have to talk!" yelled Robin.

Rage opened the sliding door and prepared to leave.

"I'm just tired and I remembered something from the front lines. What I said means nothing, good night" he said as he left.

The boys went to check if Rage was okay and met Raven and Starfire on the hallway. They came out of Starfire's room in a hurry.

"What's going on?" asked Raven "We heard Robin yelling and Rage running down the hall. What's going on?".

"Shhh , be quiet" Robin whispered "I'm sure that Rage is hiding something from us and we have to find out what that is. Follow me".

The titans passed the hallway all the way to the room Rage sat in. They heard something was going on behind the door and listened carefully. It sounded like Rage was kicking and punching walls and talking to himself but they didn't understand a word he was saying.

"Does anyone understand what he's saying?" asked BB whispering.

"I do" answered Starfire "I have the ability to absorb any language merely by touching an individual. Let me listen".

Starfire listened carefully and placed her ear next to the door. When everything went quiet they went to Cyborg's room.

"Okay Star what did you hear?" asked Cyborg guarding the entrance to his room.

"He said: _"Damn it! Damn it! Anton you idiot, they must not know about the mission, they must not know about Wilson. You stupid idiot, you're putting their life's in danger. This is all because of that bastard Wilson. I have to find him and fast or else the others will start suspecting me _".

The others were astonished and Robins mouth was wide open.

"Anything else?" Robin asked.

"No Robin, that is all that I have heard" answered Starfire while looking at the ground

"Wilson? Where have I heard that name before? And what is Rage's connection to this guy?" said Robin to himself being sure that the others asked them selves the same question.


	19. Chapter 8

A/N: This something more like a pre-chapter to what lays ahead. I'm skipping a little to get to the good stuff .

Shiva the Sarcastic ... I've answered your question in the review section. Thanks for the comments by the way ;)

**Chapter 8 - And time goes on**

Three months have passed since the whole Rage incident and him mentioning the name Wilson. For a whole month Rage remained quiet and dark but afterwards he again started to integrate with the rest of the team. He played video games almost every day with BB and even got better but he was no match for the changeling's superior game skills. With the rest of the team he got along just fine getting to know them better and learning more about the titans past and their selves. Rage seemed to be getting along best with Cyborg helping him at repairing the team's vehicles (except the T-Car of course) and working out everyday and training on the test field behind the tower.

Even so, with all the understanding going around in the tower Rage still remained strange. He would isolate himself in his room or in the gym not eating anything for days and not speaking to anyone, he would frequently use the word 'comrades' when addressing the titans and seemed to be absorbed by some sort of work or preparation.

He was a strange figure indeed but at least now he was communicating more with the team and didn't snap at his friends anymore and the titans didn't seem to be so curious about him so much as he practically became the 'butler' of the tower keeping everything in order and cleaning up the place.

After going out a couple of times, Beast Boy and Raven became close, so close that Cyborg even thought that BB had forgotten him and became a little jealous of Raven. He considered Beast Boy his best friend and thought that Raven was keeping him for herself but realizing he was becoming paranoid he spoke with him and realized that BB had become more serious and only wanted to hang around more with his girl.

Raven changed from the usually isolated and sarcastic goth girl to a more fun loving and open person but still kept some of her old habits only because that was the way she was. Beast Boy got to understand her completely and there were no more misunderstandings between the two. He even changed his attire, wearing his old Doom Patrol costume that was now all black with no purple stripes on it, just like Rachel liked it.

The most interesting couple in the tower though remained Robin and Starfire. The two of them got to be close, and I mean really close. They would usually shower together and have a good time while doing it. They slept in Starfire's room frequently and didn't feel embarrassed when one of them didn't wear a shirt or a pair of pants. In fact Robin would usually tell Starfire what an angelic body she had so that she would feel good about her great body. Robin liked to surprise his 'one special girl' in anyway possible. He started with romantic poems and rose petals on the floor and continued with romantic night outs in Starfire's favorite places. Their relationship was going better then ever, they didn't hide anything from each other and they spent a lot of time out in the city or chilling with their friends. From time to time, Robin would even use a pet name for Starfire calling her 'princess'.

Even so, Robin felt that Starfire was hiding something from him, not something dangerous, but something important, yet still he couldn't put his finger on it. After a while he forgot about it thinking it was just his usual suspicious self but one thing still bothered him. Ever since he found out that Rage could be on a mission and that he knew something about a so called Wilson he became very circumspect and even tapped his friends room trying to find out more but after three months of listening the only thing he heard from Rage's room was him counting push up's, reciting poetry or reading out loud a book that Raven would lend him and snoring and mumbling while he slept.

He decided to stop invading his friend's privacy as he was a law obyding person and decided to forget about the whole thing guessing that Rage just had a fit and was tired when he said what he said.

And so the time passed. Criminals still reared their ugly faces and tried to commit crimes but the titans were always there protecting their city and its people as this was their duty. Without major criminals and wrong doers the titans now had the life they have always wanted.

Things were now quiet ... too quiet.


	20. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 - Stars**

It was the end of September in Jump City and a historical cosmic event was about to take place, the first ever recorded meteor shower during a lunar total eclipse. Everyone was excited as Jump City had the best view in the eclipses range and the Titans were just as eager as everybody else to see it. After all, even if their duty was to protect the city they still had to witness such an event, it was a once in a life time opportunity.

It was 7 P.M. and in the tower the Titans were getting ready to view the eclipse in style. They planed to go to the outskirts of town, to the hills, at the highest elevation possible. Cyborg filled up the T-Car, buffed it and was ready to go. He got his electronic telescope and went to the main room. BB and Raven were prepared for another romantic night and seeing how Raven was all into esoterism and astrology it was a special moment for her that Beast Boy would try to make it as beautiful as he could. Robin and Starfire were also preparing them selves for this moment. Starfire saw this kind of astronomic phenomenon before on her home planet, but 6 years have passed since the last one she had observed. Robin didn't know it but for Starfire this type of event was a symbolic one. As Robin gelled his hair Starfire wondered around restless because of the signification of this day.

At 8 P.M. most of the Titans were in the main room packed up and ready to leave. Cyborg stepped inside and looked excited. He never saw a lunar eclipse before, let alone a meteor shower during a lunar eclipse.

"Alright! The T-Car is ready, the telescope is in good shape and the submarine sandwiches I made are as tasty as ever" said Cyborg who was thinking more about food then the cosmic event at hand.

"Good job Cyborg" replied Robin who stood up holding Starfire by her waist "... then let's all head for the hills".

The titans left the couch and exited the room heading for the underground garage but Beast Boy noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Rage?" BB asked looking behind him down the hallway as if he searched for something ".I think he'd like to see this too".

The others didn't even notice Rage's absence. They were used not having him around except when it came to cleaning up. After all, he usually isolated himself in his room or in the gym so they forgot about him.

"I'll go ask him" said Robin "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up to you later".

The leader of the team speeded up so that he wouldn't keep his friends waiting to long. When he got to Rage's room he knocked three times just like he usually did.

"Rage, you in there?" asked Robin. He didn't exactly know why he asked such a question, he was in the tower all day and didn't see Rage leave but he thought that asking wouldn't hurt. He heard footsteps heading towards the door and took a step back. The door opened and Rage appeared holding a book but it didn't seem he was reading as he was all covered in sweat.

"Yes Robin? Can I assist you in anyway?" asked Rage politely.

"Well, I came here to ask if you want to join us. We're heading to the hills to see the meteor shower and the lunar eclipse. What do you say? It's a once in a life time experience. And after that we'll go to a party in the city. A lot of girls are waiting you know ..." replied Robin with a grin on his face.

"Thanks but I think I'll pass" said Rage "I'm really into this book so I'll see both the eclipse and the meteor shower from here. And I'm not such a big fan of parties, but you guys go ahead and have a good time, I'll be fine over here".

"Are you sure?" asked Robin "You haven't left your room for the last few days and we don't know if you are okay".

"I'm fine, you have nothing to worry about" replied Rage turning around "... by the way, you should take an umbrella or two with you, it's going to rain tonight".

Robin was ready to leave knowing that when Rage decided on something it was pretty hard making him change his mind but his last statement made him curious. "The weather report said there are no possibilities of rain, they promised a bright sky tonight".

"I know, I've heard that too, but I have a strange tingling sensation in my heel and that usually means that it's going to rain".

"Whatever" Robin sighed "... just let us know if there's any problem back here at the tower".

"Will do, and have fun tonight you stud" Rage replied repeating the encouragement Robin gave him a few months before.

Robin got in the T-Car and told the others that Rage wasn't coming. They all knew that their friend had rather unusual habits so they didn't ask why he didn't came, it would just be a waste of valuable time.

While heading towards their destination, where there was no sign of people around, the titans chilled to the soothing and relaxing sounds of Coldplay. Everyone was quiet and just let the music do its work. When the titans arrived near the top of one of the highest hills in the area they sat down on a blanket Starfire brought and admired the falling stars. Cyborg took out his telescope and focused in on the moon. There was still another hour to go until the moon shifted into the shade of the earth so everybody began eating what Cyborg prepared.

After about a half an hour Cyborg checked on his telescope to see if it was working properly but apparently for no reason. Beast Boy and Raven were lying in the tall grass near the place they parked the T-Car looking up at the clear night sky. Robin and Starfire got up and said they were going to take a walk through the woods.

They left together holding hands down a narrow path through the small woods on the hills. The pines and cedars emanated a refreshing aroma that intensified the romance of the moment. The moon started to move in the shade of the earth and Starfire now was holding Robin tight by the arm. After about 15 minutes, they entered a small opening in the woods. The opening was of circular form, surrounded by pines and from the center there was a perfect view of the sky.

The two sat down in the circle and awaited the eclipse. Robin started kissing Starfire's neck and she loved it, letting her head fall back and moaning with pleasure.

"Robin" said Starfire all of the sudden.

"Yes princess" he replied kissing her neck again "What's the matter?"

"Look up at the sky" she said "Do you observe how the meteors are falling and burning? I've heard that people call them shooting stars, but they are not stars, why do they call them that if it is a mistake?"

"Well Star" Robin started "You see, when people see a meteor falling it's something special, you don't see them every night, so people thought that this is something magical". He gently hugged Starfire by her small waist and moved his face over her shoulder next to hers making Starfire close her eyes, relax and enjoy the moment. "Also, from the beginning of time people thought that if you see a shooting star you can make a wish and it will come true."

The moon was now almost all covered by the shade of the earth.

"And do you believe that this is true?" asked Starfire

"Princess, the first time I saw you I thought you were in fact a shooting star, and just like a meteor falls to the earth you fell in my heart and you're love is still burning there. You are my shooting star, you are everything I've ever wished for".

They both turned around and faced each other. Starfire was really touched by what Robin said and wanted him to know something.

"Dearest Robin, when I saw you for the first time I knew that you where an understanding, caring and loving person. During our time together you have convinced me that this is true and I love you for that, but I also feel that I must tell you something".

All of the sudden Starfire pushed Robin back and laid him on the ground on his back. He didn't understand what was happening as her reaction was so swift after such a romantic conversation.

"Star, what's goi-" Robin tried to ask but was silenced immediately.

She moved her index finger to her mouth. "Please be quiet, just enjoy the moment"

This being said Robin noticed that everything went black. The eclipse was total and meteors were falling. What a sight. Starfire kissed him passionately and took of his cape and shirt. Robin finally understood what was going on and liked the idea, and as long as Starfire told him to enjoy the moment it meant that she had thought this through by herself. He placed his hands on her thies, moved up to her 'grebnaks' with his right and with his left hand he went down towards her womanhood.

"I am ready for you my love" Starfire whispered in Robin's ear.

(You know what goes on next. Robin and Starfire make sweet and tender love to each other etc etc.)

After the magical moment they shared, the two lovers laid back on the grass panting for air. The moment was so satisfying that they knew what the other one was thinking without even speaking. They just stared at each other for the longest time ever and felt they where now one and the same person.

"You are a good lover" said Starfire "I am most glad that I have done this with you and not with somebody else".

"You know I love you Princess, I'll never hurt you in anyway".

"Robin, there is something I must tell you" said Starfire as if she wanted to confess to something "... this moment that I have chosen for what we have done was not chosen unintentionally".

Robin listened carefully. _"_I know, it was really romantic Star, you did a good job".

"Yes it was, but I have not chosen the moment only because of the romance. You see, during such an event a Tamaranian adolescent which -"

Starfire tried to explain Robin something but she was interrupted by his communicator.

"Robin here, over" He knew that the communicators were only used for important situations so he couldn't pass the call.

"Robin, it's me Rage. Come in. Do you copy? Over" the voice coming from the communicator sounded.

"Rage I'll kill you. You're ruining Starfire's and my moment you nut case" Robin said to him self. "What is it?"he asked with a tone full of annoyance in his voice

"Something is going on in the city between 3' Rd Street and St. Patrick Avenue. There's about twenty masked men trying to rob a weapon store, I'll try to keep them away but I can't hold on too long. Get here as fast as you can. If they get the weapons and ammo from inside the store they can do a lot of damage ... Oh crap they broke the door, I'm going in. Rage out".


	21. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 - _"I wouldn't expect anything less"_**

Beast Boy and Raven where lying on the grass next to each other and looking up at the night sky. These past months have been for the both of them something special. Beast Boy was still the fun loving guy everybody knew but he became more serious because of Raven, and Raven was no longer the secluded and creepy girl she was before, being more open to new experiences now.

"Quite a show ey?" said Raven putting her arm over BB's chest.

"Yeah, I never saw anything like this before, it's beautiful" he replied

"More beautiful then me?" asked Raven knowing what Beast Boy will answer.

The changeling smiled as he looked at her. "You know, that those meteors are beautiful only when they're falling and burning, but you Rachel, you're beautiful even when you're dark".

"Too bad the sky is getting cloudy" said Raven" Now the night will be more beautiful then me"

"No it won't" said BB pulling Raven closer to him "Couse tonight, where going to party 'till the sun rises".

Before she started dating BB, Raven was not so keen about parties or any type of festivities, but since Beast Boy was always going out with her where ever she wanted, she decided that she should try and have fun tonight. After all, she had to be fair with her boyfriend; he was always a gentleman and never complained about the places she took him so it would have been unfair if she didn't go with him where he wanted.

"Eh, what harm can it do anyway? He always goes with me to my ol' depressing hangouts so who can blame him for wanting to have a little more fun, especially with me" said Raven to herself.

Cyborg was looking through the telescope at the moon that was crossed from time to time by the clouds. While he was waiting for the clouds to move he heard someone running towards him. He turned around and saw Robin and Starfire.

"Yo guys! What's the big rush? Thought we left to the party without you or what?" asked Cyborg who was in a good disposition.

The two stopped and panted for air. "Something's going on in the city" Robin started "Rage called me on the and said that someone is trying to brake in to the weapon shop at the corner of 3'rd and St. Patrick's".

Cyborg knew that place quite well in fact. It was the place he usually acquired weapons and weapon technology from and he knew what kind of armament those guys had in the back of the store.

"What's up?" asked BB who got up with Raven to see what his team mates where talking about.

"We have to move out and fast" said Robin "Titans, in the T-Car, now!"

Cyborg started the T-Car and put the pedal to the metal. He drove fast enough to get down the hill and to the city limits in only 10 minutes. Everybody was silent and preparing for the worst. If the thieves got hold of those weapons and used them, not only would Rage's life be in danger but also innocent citizens mite get injured. Outside they noticed small drops of water and the black sky that was now full of rain clouds. Robin remembered about what Rage told him and realized that it was going to rain heavily.

When they got to the scene of the crime it was already raining cats and dogs. They peered through the rain droplets and saw about twenty five to thirty guys fighting Rage. Even though he fought as hard as he could and did keep the criminals away from the weapons, twenty minutes have passed since he attacked them and the odds were clearly against him. He was getting beaten up hard but he didn't give up. The titans stepped out in the rain and hurried to help their friend but when they saw who he was fighting they stopped to a halt. The ones that were fighting Rage were Slade's robots.

"He's back" said Robin out loud in amazement even though he wanted to say it only to himself.

**Flashback**

Robin: _This doesn't change anything, If I ever see you again ..._

Slade: _I wouldn't expect anything less_

**End of flashback**

Now, those words possessed his mind and he became aware of the situation.

_"TITANS GO!" _shouted Robin calling the attack.

The titans jumped right where Rage was standing and started to fight off every one of Slade's robots. Rage was lying on the ground and looked like he could barely move but somehow gathered his strength and tried to stand up. But to no avail, he just fell down head first to the ground in a puddle of filthy water. The titans fought hard and minimized their opponents' numbers, smashing and destroying the lot of them.

Robin was the one that was fighting the hardest. He knew what this meant and wanted to get down to business as fast as possible. Slade was now active again and still presented a threat to the world, but what was bothering him was not that Slade tried to steal weapons, but the fact that Slade came back and that this meant he didn't stop him.

Slade was the one he never defeated, the one that would just not disappear and the one that made him a failure.

While he was fighting Robin was also scanning the zone and tried to keep his opponents as far away from the shop as possible. He saw all of his team mates fighting and Rage lying down helplessly in the rain. He searched through the rain for another one of Slade's robots when he noticed a shadow in an alleyway near the store. He stopped and stared at it for a couple of seconds. He didn't know if what he was seeing was real as he had a not so pleasant history with hallucinations before. He thought he saw a man in a metal suit with a certain mask that had only one eye. Lightning struck the sky above him and lighted the dark alley plus the unknown silhouette.

For a second Robins heart stopped beating properly ... it was Slade.

He reacted as fast as he could and ran towards him. Slade saw Robin and ran in the dark alley trying to get away but Robin would not let him go this time. Robin followed and chased him to a dead end. Slade now faced Robin and seemed almost happy to see him. This particular fact scared him.

"Robin, it seems that we are yet again face to face" Slade stated in a relaxed tone "You didn't miss me did you? Or did you really think that I was never going to come back?"

Robin was mad as hell but decided to loosen up and stood straight. "Cut the small talk Slade, you know I never gave up searching for you".

"I know, and the fact that you haven't found me or let alone notice my existence is so pleasing for me" he said as he walked towards Robin "It seems to me that you failed again. Good work Robin".

"Slade, we both know that that's not really you" said Robin retracting his battle bo-staff.

"Of course, this could just be your imagination acting up again just like in the past, but if this is the case, then where did my robot commandos come from?"

"I'm not saying you're dead, I'm saying you're not real. You're just using another robot version of yourself".

"Are you 100 sure about that?"asked Slade who's face was now only inches away from Robins.

Robin pointed to Slade's mask trying to make him understand. "Before, when we fought your eye was on the left side and your right side was all covered up. Now your eye is on the right side. You don't fool me, I'm not even going to fight".

"Good boy Robin, it seems you have not yet lost your keen sense of observation".

Robin didn't pay any attention to his enemies taunts. "So what are you up to now Slade? What are you planning this time?".

"Robin, do you honestly think that I want you to know every aspect of my return or any of my future plans?" said Slade who was speaking through an intercom placed in the head of his robot replica "This theft was nothing more than a way to attract your attention to what will follow. I'd suggest you keep your eyes pealed in the future". Slade's replica now held in his hand a device that looked familiar to Robin, it was a detonator. "This is where I take my leave. I'll see you all in the near future".

Robin noticed Slade pushing the button on the detonator and jumped back to avoid the shrapnel. His nemesis body was now nothing but a piece of ruble. He looked at it and wanted nothing more than to be the one that actually does that to Slade's real body.

Robin returned to his friends and noticed that they destroyed the rest of Slade's robots. The rain was still pouring down and didn't seem to stop any time soon. His mind was now focusing on what Slade told him and didn't even notice BB trying to talk to him.

"Dude, where did you go? We had to fight these guys all by our selves" said BB, a little angry at his friend.

Robin was startled by Beast Boy's question and immediately came back to his senses. His team was now starring at him noticing that he just snapped back to reality. Robin looked around and remembered about Rage. He turned to look for him and saw him still down on the ground.

"Forget about that, Rage is down!" said Robin distracting his friends who were suspicious about what he was thinking.

They went next to Rage and noticed that he was moaning from pain while trying to move. Robin and Beast Boy picked him up and carried him on their shoulders. He was badly bruised, his face was full of blood mixed with filth and water and his mask was half ripped off.

"Rage, are you alright?_"_ asked Starfire worried and placing her hand on his wounded face.

"Ugh_"_ Rage moaned _"_Those bastards! They knocked two of my teeth out" he replied spiting blood down on the sidewalk next to his teeth.

They carried him to the T-Car and placed him on the back seat. His condition was not really good but he didn't seem to have any great injuries except for the two teeth he was now missing.

"He's going to be just fine, he just got a bad kicking that's all" said Cyborg trying to calm everyone down even though nobody said a word.

"So where did you go anyway?"asked Raven "One second you're fighting and the next you're gone. What's wrong with you?" .

Robin squinted his eyes and looked at her a little bit angry. "I saw Slade; he said he'll see us soon".

The others were shocked, but not by the fact that Slade was back, but by the way Robin said Slade will be back ... something was just not right.

"Come on, we have to get to the tower" said Robin while entering the T-Car and avoiding his friends questions.


	22. Chapter 11 Part 1

**Chapter 11 - Internal conflicts**

**Part 1 – Sleepless night**

The titans now knew about Slade's return and were expecting the worst to come. None of their attempts to stop him in the past were successful and with every passing day they didn't know how stronger he would get, what plan he was devising or what place he will strike next and how hard that strike will be.

The whole team was on alert and prepared everyday for the next time Slade would attack the city. They were constantly waiting for what would come next and the atmosphere in the tower was so dense that you could cut it with a knife but the most of the pressure was on Robin's shoulders.

Ever since he talked to Slade he changed. When they got back to the tower Robin helped taking Rage to his room and after that locked himself in his room. He would work constantly and become very irritated if he was disturbed. He would get up everyday at 9 in the morning and eat something on the run and go back to his room to work until late in the afternoon when he would usually patrol the city from 9 P.M. till 1 A.M. alone or with his team mates. His physical condition got worst with every day that passed and he even stopped talking to his friends, except when it came to going out and patrolling.

Three weeks have passed since the Slade incident and Robin remained elusive to the sight of his friends.

Beast Boy and Raven where in Raven's room sleeping. They got back from patrolling and searching the city at 12:30 A.M. and were tired so they decided to go to bed. Beast Boy was sleeping like a little baby because of the exhaustion but Raven couldn't sleep. She would try to close her eyes but there were thoughts that just kept her awake and wouldn't let her sleep. She abandoned the idea of sleeping seeing how it was no use to try and rest, got up trying not to wake BB and left the room.

She walked towards the main room to get something to drink but when she saw Robins door she stopped.

Raven knew that Robin was the root of all that was keeping her awake but didn't know what to do. She tried to talk to him before but he would just ignore her (like he did with everybody else for that matter) and even though she didn't have a deep affection for Robin she still cared for him seeing how he was the one that helped her and gave her confidence in herself when she was down, and was also the one that was always there for the team no matter what.

She placed her ear next to Robin's door trying to hear what he was doing. She heard him typing something and browsing through paper files with a constant humming sound that came from his computer cooler. Disturbing him now would have only caused an argument and she wasn't in the mood for such a thing, especially at this time of night, so she decided to leave.

Upon entering the main room she turned up the lights and heated up some of her herbal tea that she prepared that morning. She went next to the window and tried to think of a way to help Robin before he would have a nervous break down and become insane. She thought of a few ways to make Robin come back to his normal self but realized that most of those ideas where either impossible to use or too hard. She took small sips of her tea and started to become discouraged when all of the sudden the door opened and inside entered BB who was rubbing his eyes.

He walked to Raven to see what was going on but she didn't face him, she just kept looking out the window worried.

"Rachel, its 1:30 in the morning, why aren't sleeping babe?" asked BB

Raven tried not to make him worry too so she told him everything was okay when in fact it wasn't. "I'm fine; I just got up for a cup of tea that's all".

"Rachel, I know something isn't right" replied Beast Boy rubbing Raven's shoulders to comfort her "Something is on your mind and it's keeping you awake. You know you can talk to me about it, I'll help you get over it".

Raven closed her eyes and let her head fall down forward as BB embraced her with both hands from behind.

"Gar, I'm worried about Robin" said Raven "Ever since Slade came back he's been acting like a deluded maniac and a workaholic again. He won't talk to anyone, he won't eat, he won't let us know anything, he gets irritated if we disturb him. He's just not the same anymore. He did act this way before, but ... not quite this way".

"I know what you mean Rachel" replied Beast Boy now looking out the window himself "Robin is eventually going to have a break down if we don't do something and because of the way he's acting the whole team is affected. I've talked about this with Rage and Cyborg and they suggested that Starfire is the only one that could help him. If he won't listen to any of us he'll at least speak to her. I mean, she's the one that's closest to him ..."

Raven sighed and opened her eyes. "Poor Star" she said with a deep voice "I can only imagine how she's feeling right now".

"What?" asked Beast Boy a little surprised.

"I was talking about Starfire. She's been miserable ever since Robin got back to his old habits. They used to sleep, shower, eat together, they were inseparable, but now he's ignoring her and I can sense that Starfire is depressed and worried. She's alone and feels that Robin has abandoned her. But none the less, she is the only one that can help him" she replied turning around and heading towards the door.

"Wait a sec Rachel, where are you going?" asked BB who knew what she was up to.

"I'm going to Starfire, I have to talk to her" she replied walking away dressed only in her attire.

"But she could be asleep, you shouldn't wake her up Rachel, I don't think it would be good for her".

"Gar, you know I'm a telepath. Starfire is awake and alone, I have to talk to her".


	23. Chapter 11 Part 2

**Part 2 - Pride and ignorance**

Walking towards Starfire's room in the den of night was not something Raven enjoyed doing but something she was forced to do. She knew that Robin was going to go nuts if he continued this way and that Starfire was the only one that could at least try to bring Robin back to his normal self. Walking along she passed the glass walls of the tower observing the quiet city. She couldn't help thinking how most of the people over there were probably asleep, just like she was supposed to be. She didn't ever think about it to much but she did wonder sometimes how it would be if she lived a normal life. No crime fighting, no villains, no worries what so ever. Indeed, it would have been a great thing but what about those who would suffer if a criminal would strike? She realized that what she and here friends were doing was a deed of honor and that others benefit from their work. Also, never would she, or any other titan for that matter, have accepted a reward for their crime fighting. Appreciation and respect were the only things that they asked for.

Yes, what they were doing was hard, but everyone in Jump City depended on them. But who did they depend on?

"We all depend on Robin" Raven thought to herself. Just like the people of Jump City depended on the titans for protection, the titans highly depended on Robin for guidance. He was the one that researched the background of every villain and knew everything about the cities slums, he was the one that kept things together and mediated conflicts, and he was the one that coordinated both his team and the honorary titans. He did all of these things and more. and yet he would never become so irritated as he was now. He is a true leader, but every leader can mess up once in a while and no leader is perfect, and the stress caused by Slade's return was now becoming a burden to heavy for Robin's shoulders. He was going to go insane unless somebody acted right away.

Raven was now in front of Starfire's room. She concentrated and tried to sense what her friend was feeling. Sadness, worry, depression, a sense of uselessness ... all of these feelings came from her best friend. She entered Star's room without even knocking realizing that such formalities were not necessary at times like these. Starfire was sitting at the end of her bed and looking out the window with her hands covering her face. Raven approached Starfire and thought that asking for her help now was probably not such a hot idea but a voice inside her told her to go on.

_"Behind every great leader there is a great women". _This was the thought that made her realize Starfire was the answer.

Raven sat down next to her friend and tried to look at her but couldn't see her face because of her hands. She gently took her hands into her palms and placed them down but contrary to what she was expecting, Starfire was not crying, she was just worried.

"Hey Star" Raven stared "I was wondering how everything is going. Are you alright?"

"No Raven, I am not alright, I am most worried" Starfire replied "Do you not see what is happening? Robin is no longer the way he used to be. He is ignoring us and never tells us anything. The team is going to fail if this goes on."

Starfire's expression was indeed one of a highly worried person, but Raven knew that she was also hiding something. She spoke about how bad things were going on with the team as if she and Robin weren't even in love. This was not the Starfire she knew but realized that her friend was so depressed that she tried to avoid talking about the things that were obviously on her mind.

"Look Star, I know how you feel" said Raven slowly "You don't have to hide it; I know that Robin's attitude is eating you from the inside out. I understand what you are feeling".

Starfire sat up and kept her head down. "You probably understand best these kinds of feelings" she replied "But what am I to do? He never speaks to me and I know how dedicated he is to his work, but this is becoming to painful. We used to be so close but these last three weeks have separated us completely and I am afraid that he does not care about me anymore and that if I try speaking to him I will just make things worst".

"If that's the case, how can things turn out worst then they already are?" asked Raven "You still love him, and I'm sure that he still loves you, but Slade is a far bigger obsession at this moment. I agree that what he's doing is for the best, for all of us, but he's pushing him self too far and you're the only one that can help him. You have to go and talk to him and try to snap him out of this frenzy."

Starfire turned around to face her friend; her eyes looked like they were searching for answers. "But how am I to do that? How can I accomplish the snapping out? Did none of you try this before?"

"Star, even if we tried it wouldn't have worked because Robin won't speak to us" Raven replied "We are his team mates, his friends, but you are his girlfriend, his soul mate; if there's anyone he would rather talk to that's you"

"Do you truly think I am the only one that could help him?" asked Starfire now looking at Raven with a determined and hopeful expression on her face.

"I'm sure about that. You should go and try to talk to him right now, after all, he hadn't slept in two days and maybe you'll talk him into resting"

"He is awake?"

"I've heard him work when I passed his door, I'm pretty sure he's still up" replied Raven while standing up from her friends bed.

"I will go talk to him right away" said Starfire storming out of her room.

Starfire left in such a hurry that Raven didn't even get to tell her to be cautious about what she says. She left the room to try and catch up with her but Starfire was already gone. Instead, she found Beast Boy outside her friend's room looking perplexed.

"What's going on Rachel? Where is Star flying in such a rush and ... " said BB but stopped as he realized what probably happened "... uhum, I get it. Do you think you did the right thing?"

"I hope so. If not at least I tried" replied Raven yawning.

"Come on babe, let's go to bed, you're tired and need to rest" said Beast Boy putting his arm around his girls neck and walking towards her room.

"I hope everything turns out right. If it doesn't ... it's all my fault" said Raven to herself a bit scared of things not going as planed.

Starfire flew all the way to Robin's room with her heart full of hope knowing that she was the only one who could help him. She was so desperate that she was ready to do just as Raven instructed her without thinking of any type of consequences.

When she arrived to his room she took a deep breath to prepare her self and then knocked but there was no answer. She knocked once more, but again no answer. She was asking herself if Robin fell asleep but remembered what Raven told her, that he was more than probably awake and that he would be working. She put her ear next to the door to hear if something was going on but she could only hear a humming sound in the background that came from the computer.

"He has fallen asleep with leaving the computer on?" said Starfire to herself "Robin is more responsible and would perform the shutting down first, but come to think of it, he was probably exhausted and collapsed".

This last thought made her worry even more. Imagining Robin down on the floor disturbed and frightened her so she entered his room without trying to knock again. The room looked like a real military headquarter. Newspaper articles, files, maps, photos, spare parts from robots, weapons that he was working on ... all of these were keeping him away from her. She walked towards the computer to see what he was actually working on but instead found him asleep with his head resting on the keyboard. She went next to him and wanted to take him over to her room but noticed something on the computer screen. It was Slade's mask.

"This has got to stop" said Starfire turning off the screen annoyed of what she saw and what was going on.

She looked at Robin and noticed that he was snoozing off somewhere far away in a dream world so she decided to take him to bed. She lifted his arms up and tried to take him in her hands but in the next moment she found herself being slammed to the ground and felt a grasp around her neck.

"I'll kill you Slade!" yelled out Robin who thought he was being attacked.

Starfire couldn't even move. It happened so fast that it shocked her. _"He said he would never hurt me"_ she thought to herself.

"Robin ... it is me, Starfire" she tried to yell but could only mumble.

In an instant of a second his grasp got lose and he pulled back falling down on the floor breathing hard. Starfire tried to catch her breath and stood up on her hands and knees massaging her trough. Robin got up and rushed to her to see if she was okay. He was just as shocked as her.

"Oh my God!" Robin exclaimed "Starfire I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I thought you were Slade and ... Hey wait a minute! What were you doing here anyway? Don't you know I have work to do?"

After hearing this Starfire was enraged. He attacked her and now he is the one complaining instead of helping her? This was just not the Robin she loved.

"Robin, you are a complete klorbag!"cried out Starfire "You truly are what is called a jerk! I have come to see if you were asleep or to help you sleep in the case that you were still up. I have come here trying to do good; I came here hoping that you still love me and after trying to help you this is how you behave?"

"Look Starfire, I have a lot of work to do. I can't sleep and you know I will refuse to sleep until I finish what I've started, now please just leave me alone, I have work to do!" he said in a very very cold manner.

"So I do not interest you anymore?" asked Starfire while standing in front of Robin with her palms on her thies and stopping him from leaving "You said you would never hurt me, yet you have just done that! You were the one I trusted the most, the one I loved, the one I have offered my body to, and now this is how you act? Telling me to go away? Robin, look at me and say something. I will not stand you behaving so ... "

"Starfire shut up!"yelled Robin waking up the whole tower in the process. Starfire was so frightened by her lover's shouting that she backed up to the door "I have work to do and a villain to catch. I'm doing this for us, so that we could live a better life. I'm doing this so that we don't have to fear Slade coming back and trying to destroy us. What is it you don't understand?"

"I do not understand why you will not talk to me!"said Starfire who was now on the border between despair and rage "You work day and night and come to no solution. You are stubborn and do not care about us anymore, and most of all, you don't care about me. After all that we have been through you just shout at me telling me to up my shut?!?!"

The sensors reacted when they picked up Starfire's movement and opened the door. "You know what Starfire?" said Robin walking towards her "I don't care! The only thing I care about is catching Slade once and for all, and if you don't understand it you can just leave. Now get out!"

With a swift move of the hand Starfire slapped Robin over the cheek so hard that he landed on the other side of the room. She turned around with warm tears streaming down her face ... but for her, those tears felt like blood.


	24. Chapter 11 Part 3

A/N: I'll be back with the next chapter on Tuesday or Thursday!

**Part 3 - A friend in need is a friend indeed  
**

Her tears felt like blood and were now streaming down on Starfire's cheeks. She ran to her room crying, confused and heart broken because of what had just happened. When she finally got there she collapsed on her bed soaking her pillow with tears of sorrow thinking that the Robin she once loved was no more.

_"Why has he changed? Why does he act like this? Why doesn't he care for me anymore?"_ she asked her self.

She wept and wept and felt like dieing. She was confused and sad at the same time, but not only by the fact that Robin acted the way he did, but also because she didn't get to tell him something gravely important.

When Starfire ran back, the sound of footsteps and crying sounded through the towers hallways. When she heard the noises outside her room, Raven immediately realized what happened and went to check up on her friend.

_"Oh no! This is all my fault. I shouldn't have told her to go and speak to him"_ Raven thought to herself.

She got out of bed and started to walk towards the door speeding up her pase, wearing only her usual black attire. This startled Beast Boy as he was sound asleep.

"Ugh!" he moaned "Rachel where are you going? What's happening?" asked a confused and roughly awakened Beast Boy.

"It's Starfire, something's gone wrong" she said in a hurry as she rushed out of her room leaving BB inside.

Raven went to check on her friend and give her a shoulder to cry on, and by the looks of it things didn't go as she thought they would. She thought that if Starfire spoke to Robin then he would comply to what she would ask him to do. She went inside Starfire's room forgetting to knock or to ask her if she was okay, in fact, she could hear her cry from down the hall and such questions would have been useless seeing how the answer was obvious. She found Starfire on her bed crying her heart out and continuously asking herself _"why?"_.

Raven rushed to her side and tried to help. "Star, what happened? What did he do to you? What did he tell you?" asked a concerned Raven.

Starfire felt like she couldn't even move, she was so broken that she didn't even lift her head to face her friend. "He yelled at me and told me to leave" said Starfire choking with tears "What have I done to deserve this Raven? What have I done? Am I the one to blame?".

"No Star, don't blame yourself, it's not your fault" said Raven with a tone full of compassion and taking Starfire into her arms trying to calm her down as she cried on her shoulder "Shhh, there there, it's going to be okay Star, it's going to be okay" she whispered to her friend.

Starfire raised her head to face her friend. Raven had never seen her friend this way before; heart broken, sad and crying her heart out. The scene was almost suicidal. It was something totally new to her and at the same time something very disturbing.

"Everything will not be okay Raven" replied Starfire "He does not love me anymore, he has rejected me".

"No Star, he still loves you, he's just under a lot of pressure. It's all because of Slade"

"It is not only about Slade, Raven. I have done something to anger him greatly. He is mad at me for some reason, otherwise he would have never shouted telling me to leave and saying that he doesn't care about what I say and grabbing me by my throat almost suffocating me and -"

At the sound of those last words Raven was shocked and became furious. "Wait, what did you say he did to you?"interrupted Raven.

"When I tried to lift him and take him to his bed he reacted by throwing me to the ground and trying to choke me" replied Starfire remembering what had just happened a couple of minutes earlier.

Raven was now angry as hell. Even though she considered her friend a little bit naive she also knew that Starfire had a good heart and that she didn't deserve anything like this. She was her best friend after all, and after hearing that Robin acted like that she decided to teach him a lesson.

"Why that little fu ...!" said Raven almost swearing but trying to keep her cool. "Wait here Star!"said Raven as she walked out of her room.

Outside Starfire's door, Beast Boy and Rage listened and tried to figure out what happened. When Raven stormed out the door they both made one step back being startled by her furious exit. They noticed that she was angry as she practically stomped the floor while walking and wanted to know what had happened.

"Hey Raven, wait a second, what's going on?" asked Rage.

"Robin tried to hurt Starfire. I'm going to teach that stumpy little prick a lesson in manners" replied Raven.

In just a blink of a second, both BB and Rage realized what had happened after seeing Starfire on her bed crying through the opened door.

"Oh man! This can't be good!" said Beast Boy.

"Of course it is not good" replied Rage pointing at Starfire _" _... just look at her".

"I'm not talking about that. Starfire is Raven's best friend and that means that Robin is in for a real bad beating".

"I saw Raven fight before" replied Rage a bit worried himself "She is no joke when it comes to kicking. In that case you go after her and make sure that she doesn't hurt Robin or the other way around".

"Got it" said BB heading for Robin's room "But hey, wait! Then what are you going to do?".

"I will go and talk to Starfire and try to calm her down. I will do my best ... I suggest you should try and do the same" replied Rage.  
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"His last base of operation was located in sector 13" said Robin to him self trying to pin point Slade's actual location "His last three bases were all located in sectors 13, 14 and 15. But why? I'm sure it has something to do with some type of energy resource he uses to power up his base, but if that's the case then what resource is he using?"

He checked the city map that was mostly covered with red dots from his research, and tried to find any type of energy source in what he marked as sectors 13, 14 and 15 of Jump City that Slade could use. Electric, gas form, hydro, mechanical, fossil ... it didn't matter. He knew Slade used a lot of energy and that his last headquarters were situated near some sort of energy source he could cheaply take advantage of. He searched the map in detail and was really tense when he heard a knock on the door and a familiar voice calling out for him.

"Robin! I know you're up, open this door right now or I'll break it down". It was Raven.

It was the second time that night someone disturbed him. In his mind Robin didn't understand why people were so worried and thought that what he was doing was absolutely normal, so hearing Raven calling him out in such an angry manner made him snap. He stomped towards the door and opened it widely. He saw Raven looking at him furiously but didn't understand why. He thought she was there to complain about something other than how he treated Starfire.

"Yeah and what the hell do you want Raven?" asked Robin.

"Excuse me? You don't speak to me like that Robin, do you understand?" said Raven who was pissed off by her team mates reaction.

"I have work to do, what do you want?"

"I want to talk to you about how you treated Starfire. Now let me in!"she ordered.

Robin wasn't used to take orders from anybody so Raven's request hit him hard confusing him for a second, then making him even more angry. As he tried to shout at his friend, looking at her dead in the eyes, Beast Boy came up to them huffing.

"Uh, uh" BB panted for air "... guys wait! Don't fight, you wont solve anything this way".

"Were not fighting" replied Robin who knew what would happen if he shouted at Raven now "I was working, and as you can clearly see, Raven disturbed me". After this, he turned around heading to his work desk "So if you don't mind, I have a villain to find and I suggest that you two -"

He tried to close the door behind him and finish his sentence before the door was shut, but all of the sudden it jammed. He looked behind only to see Raven using her powers to block the door and still starring at him furiously.

"Oh no you don't Robin! This time you will hear us out and talk to us" interrupted Raven.

Robin turned to her clinching his fist threateningly."I said I don't have time for this! What ever happened between me and Starfire is our business and it concerns only us. She tried to help me, I shouted at her ... big deal! It's none of your business!"the Boy Wonder replied.

After he finished talking Robin's body was engulfed by a black aura and he was thrown across the room smashing into the wall. Hearing Robin talk the way he just did and seeing him behave that way made Raven furious beyond belief. Robin was the one they all really counted on, he was suppose to always set an example and by acting the way he did earlier, he proved that he was beginning to depart from them.

_"Big deal!?" _thought Raven _"That's how he feels about his lover? His girlfriend? His soul mate? My best friend? Starfire doesn't deserve to be treated like this. Robin needs to get a taste of his own medicine"._

"Rachel stop! What are you doing?"Beast Boy said in shock after seeing Robin thrown into the wall.

"Stay out of this Garfield!" Raven ordered as she walked inside Robin's room.

BB knew what would happen if he tried to stop her. After all, he remembered what happened to him in the past when she was upset about something so he just stood besides her to protect her if Robin would react in a violent way.

Robin tried to stand up and face his friends that he now thought were enemies. He was so mad that he would even attack them, but just as he pulled himself back up a black fist hit him in the stomach. He fell again to the ground in pain. He then noticed that the excessive research and lack of sleep finally got to him. He was in no condition of defending himself, let alone putting up a fight.

When he was down, the black hand grabbed a hold of his face and smashed his head into the ground several times after which letting him go. He started feeling the pain of Raven's hits and wanted it to stop, but again the black hand which Raven created grabbed a hold of him. This time, it threw him on his back and started choking him. Her grip tightened and Robin was starting to form tears in his eyes because of the pain and stress.

"R-Raven ... please stop!"mumbled Robin who tried to free him self.

"NO!" shouted Raven _"_Do you feel this? Do you like it? TELL ME!"

"Ughh, no ... I don't … just let me go" said Robin who was almost out of air.

"This is exactly what Star felt. This is the way you treated her, only you hurt her more then I'm hurting you right now. I hope this hurts like hell, BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT!"said Raven who's eyes turned black. After another three seconds Robin stopped moving and Raven immediately let him go, leaving him to catch his breath. "... You don't deserve a girl like Starfire, you creep" finished Raven.

She left the room and found a shocked Beast Boy outside looking at her frightened of what just happened. Seeing him, she realized that even with his old goofy self he wouldn't be capable of doing what Robin did to her best friend.

"Man Rachel … that was really extreme!" he said "Are you sure you did the right thing?"

Raven looked at him and sighed for a second. "I hope I did. Robin needed a taste of his own medicine after all, and I hope that from now on, he thinks twice before attacking the one that loves and cares for him the most".

Beast Boy knew that Raven acted right, it was just that seeing her like this scared him.

"It's late, you should get some rest babe, we all should" said BB.

"I can't" she replied as if she had a duty to up hold "I want to check up on Starfire"

They started walking towards Raven's room that was situated two corridors before her friends room. "That's not going to be necessary, Rage is talking to her right now, and she's going to be just fine" the changeling said.

"Are you sure?"asked Raven who was surprised of what Beast Boy told her "You know how Rage can get, are you positive you did the right thing by letting him talk to her?"

"I'm positive. I mean yeah, Rage is a tough guy but I got to know him better and even if he doesn't show it, deep down he's an understanding fellow. Starfire is in good hands, trust me".

They walked back to her room and turned in for the night. Before entering the room, Raven tried hearing if Starfire was still crying but she didn't hear a thing.


	25. Chapter 11 Part 4

A/N: For Shiva the Sarcastic and the others that read this fic ... Before reading this part I must remind you that you probably missed the last chapter that I uploaded this Saturday ... Just a reminder.

**Part 4 – Doubt? Betrayal? Double Cross?**

Rage entered Starfire's room quietly, looking at his friend and pondering. The last few months he observed how Robin and Starfire's relationship went on and even spoke with both of them from time to time when he wasn't working out, thus getting to know them better.

When he heard that Robin tried to hurt Starfire he was very curious. He came to know Robin as a good leader, as a true gentleman when it came to his girlfriend, and that he would never lay a finger on her, let alone hurt her. What intrigued him even more was the fact that he was sure that Starfire would never do anything to upset Robin this much. During their conversations Rage got to know how Starfire really was. Kind, gentle, loving, peaceful, always in a good disposition, always eager to help her friends, and more importantly, always thinking about Robin and trying to make him enjoy life.

Starfire angering Robin or Robin hurting Starfire for no apparent reason, just didn't make any sense.

_"Oh come on!" _Rage thought to him self observing his friend as she was crying _"Starfire isn't capable of annoying Robin that bad. On the other hand, Robin wouldn't attack her for no reason now ... would he?"_

As he walked towards his friend he thought he had to get to the bottom of this so that he could help both of them. Seeing Starfire in despair and crying heart out wasn't something he really enjoyed, in fact, it was very disturbing.

He sat down next to her and taped her on the shoulder.

"Starfire ... Star" he called out "It's me, Rage, your friend".

Starfire turned around and saw her friend who was visibly intrigued by her attitude. She was a little startled by his appearance in the dark but soon came to her senses.

"Rage?" she asked, choking on her tears "Wha-What are you doing here? Please do not shout at me too, I am not guilty of anything".

After the way Robin acted, Starfire thought that the stress that resulted from his work wasn't enough to make him that angry and tell her what he just did. She thought that she had done something during the last weeks that might have upset him but she didn't know what. Because of this she became paranoid and when she heard Rage she thought that she had done something wrong that upset him as well.

"No Starfire ..." Rage replied with a calm voice and a bit surprised of what she just said "I am not here to shout at you, I am here to help you".

"Help me? Why do you wish to help me? After all, I have probably caused a lot of misfortune by talking to Robin, why would you wish to help someone who has done something wrong?"she asked with low self esteem.

Rage slightly touched her cheek and slowly moved her face towards his. "You must not ask why Star, you have done nothing to me or to the others" he said trying to calm her down "Remember when I acted wrong with Raven and Beast Boy a while ago?"

"Yes, I do" she replied breathing in heavily.

"Well then, do you remember that you were the one that talked to me like a friend when I actually deserved to be kicked out? You came to me and gave me support when in fact I deserved to be yelled at. You where the one that understood me and I then pledged to be a true friend and also help you when you are in need. I kept my promise, that is why I am here, to help you in your time of crisis".

Starfire stopped crying and the remaining tears fell to the ground like river stones. "I am most thankful for your help friend Rage, but I do not think that you can help me. What has happened I am afraid is beyond repair".

"I understand that Robin hurt you" Rage replied "But exactly what happened? I have known you two for some time now and never have I ever seen you argue. In fact, I didn't even know you had problems".

"We did not have problems. I ... I must have done something to greatly anger him, otherwise I can not explain his behavior"she said.

"What could you have possibly done? These last few weeks he's been isolating himself in his room, so seeing how you two didn't have a lot of contact lately how is it possible for you to do something wrong? It just doesn't make any sense".

"Neither does Robin's reaction" replied Starfire "You see, after I have spoken to Raven I wanted to help Robin rest so I have left towards his room. When I arrived there, Robin was sleeping in an uncomfortable position so I tried to take him to bed, but contrary to my peaceful intention when he woke up ... he tried to suffocate me - "

"Robin did that?" interrupted Rage.

"Yes, and he thought I was Slade too, but after noticing who it really was he was suffocating he let go, but even so he didn't stop, he made it seem as if I was the one to blame for how he reacted. He said he cared more about his work then he cared about us ... He cares more for his work the he cares about me" concluded Starfire who sounded like she had forgotten and now remembered the whole incident.

When she said the last sentence she buried her head in her chest and her voice was rather low. She felt like crying wouldn't solve anything but she didn't know what to do to make things better.

"And what happened next?" asked Rage

"Well, after he yelled at me I gave him a slap over the cheek. I do not understand why I have reacted that way but more than surely I have acted wrong. And now I am here, knowing not what I must do to repair the damage that I have caused".

Rage placed his palm under his friends chin and lifted her head up.

"Look Star, I understand what you might be feeling right now. You feel betrayed and blame yourself for what happened but believe me you are not the one to blame, and neither is Robin".

Starfire didn't understand what Rage just said and looked at him curiously. This last sentence confused her and she wanted to know what her friend meant.

"What do you mean by saying that neither one of us is to blame for what has happened. We were the only ones that had partaken in the arguing, one of us must surely be the one to blame" replied Starfire.

"I knew I should have been more precise to details when explaining things" said Rage making a note to himself "It is quite easy actually, you did not have any face to face contact with Robin these last three weeks so it is impossible for you to have done something wrong towards him. So ... you are clearly not the one to blame".

"But you have stated that neither I nor Robin are to blame, yet, from what you have just said, it would mean that Robin is the one to blame. I'm confused".

"Well technically Robin is the one to blame, but due to the circumstances you can't blame him for how he behaved".

"I am still confused" said Starfire "What circumstances are you referring to?"

"What I am trying to say is that all of this obsessive work has taken it's toul and Robin can't react normal when he is disturbed, and I don't mean to be rude, but I understand him".

"So you are saying that the way he reacted is somehow ... normal?"

"Yes" replied Rage "It is in a way normal, and you probably ask yourself why. Well I will tell you. Robin has an obsession with this Slade character, right? Right! From what I have heard he even came back from the dead and the fact that he never stopped him, and that now Slade has resurfaced, is making Robin believe that he is a weakling and that he is incapable of getting rid of this one villain, so he wants to find him and finish him off".

"I see ..." said Starfire who was following Rage word by word.

"So, by finishing him off Robin will be able to look up to himself and become more confident. Also, he is ashamed. He is thinking that his own team considers him a failure of a man and this mounts up to the stress he has already acquired. And further more, he wants to keep everyone safe".

"But why did you say that you consider his behavior normal?"

"Simple. He is the leader of the team, a leader always wants his team to be safe and Robin thinks that the only way to keep all of us safe, and especially you, is to find this Slade character and finish him once and for all, but this requires work, a lot of work, and during the work process he can only focus on one thing and that is Slade. The stress that is coming from the fact that Robin never stopped his adversary and from the fact that Slade has threatened us, and from the fact that he can't find him is all directed into his work. Sum up the stress factors, add work and frustration, multiply it with personal feelings and paranoid delusions and you get a very explosive and instable mixture that has become Robin's behavior. So when you tried to help him he exploded because he was used to work and his reaction, even it is not normal for us, is very normal to him."

"How are you sure that this is the cause of Robin's unfamiliar behavior?" asked Starfire suspiciously "You also have not spoken to him these last weeks, how do you know these things?"

"Let us just say that I have also been through these types of things my self and I know how it is to be obsessed with someone, or something. People with obsessions always act the same, and let me tell you, Robin is going to be okay, I guarantee it"

"But this obsession is not good for him, he will just continue to act like this until he will, as you say, crack".

Rage raised an eye brow and smiled, as if he knew something Starfire didn't.

"Don't be so sure. When Raven left your room she was really angry and said she was going to teach him a lesson. And not that I know Raven very well, but I have seen her before and I am sure she will make Robin open up his eyes and see things clearly ... either by talking to him, or by using force, but the fact is that she will make him see things through clearly".

Starfire now understood what Rage meant but still had doubts and felt strange.

"I still feel doubtful, but it is probably only because I was worried"

"I know what you mean, but rest assure, Robin will be just fine".

Starfire now felt much better ... in a way. Rage reassured her everything was going to be fine and she trusted him. The strange thing was that she never thought of Rage of being so understanding. She always saw him as the secluded and secretous new member of the team, but this conversation made her change her opinion.

"I am most thankful for your support Rage, I do not know how to repay you".

"Repay me?" replied Rage chuckling "Starfire we are friends, you do not have to repay me in anyway. After all, you once helped me, and as a friend I felt I had to help you as well, that's what friends are for aren't they? And remember, if you ever have any problems, you can always count on me for support. I'll always be here for you ... "

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After Raven left, Robin couldn't get up because of the pain from his friends blows. He laid there on his floor trying to get up but instead he was stumbling without any equilibrium and the stress that mounted up combined with the anger of the two interruptions that occurred made him thirsty for revenge.

_"Stupid Raven, taking Starfire's side"_ thought Robin _"Don't they understand that Slade is dangerous? How do they expect me to find him if I don't work? And what the heck is up with Starfire coming here and then sicking Raven on me? They're just fools! What did I do to deserve this? After all, all I'm trying to do is keep them safe, but Starfire just has to come in here and ruin everything ... I should go and teach her a lesson about ..."_

All of the sudden, he stopped and realized what he was mentally saying. The way he was thinking startled even him, but what scared him the most was what he was about to say about Starfire.

_"What the hell am I thinking?"_ said Robin to himself out loud continuing this monolog in his mind _"How could've I acted this way? She came here to help me and I treated her like garbage. Why did I even try and choke her? Why did I scream at her? I know work is important but by trying to protect her I'm actually hurting her. And if that was what Star felt, when Raven choked me ... Wait a minute, she said it hurt Star even more then it hurt me. Oh my God, she's right! What's happening to me? Why am I acting this way?"_

Robin stood up and looked around his room. He noticed all the work he's been doing, all the papers, all the research and all the gadgets he had layering around. He looked all around the room but when he turned to his right he saw his reflection in his wardrobe window. He walked towards it and gazed at his reflection, noticing his swollen up features.

_"And for what? For what all of this research if you can't even find Slade? For what Richard? For what all this secrecy about your work if you end up being hated by your own friends? For what all this 'trying to keep the team safe' routine if all you're doing is ignoring them? And most of all, for what reason are you hiding from Starfire? Don't you realize that the only thing you are doing is making her drift away from you? ... She'll hate you, she already hates you, the way you acted has no excuse. She is the one you love, and at the same time you are the one that's pushing her away. You have no control over yourself and push people away from you when it comes to achieving your own personal goals. You have no control over yourself ... and you call yourself a leader. You can't even keep someone close to you ..."_ a voice that seemed to be Robin's conscience said.

He kept looking at his reflection and listened to what the voice in his head was saying. After a while, he just stood there looking at himself and thought what a complete failure he was becoming by trying to succeed in catching Slade, but the voice in his head again made herself present.

_"You lost Starfire, you can't have her back, she's probably thinking right now with whom to replace you"_

Intuition. That's what Robin thought when he heard the last sentence and realized that what it was saying was partially, if not completely true. He had a vision of Starfire with another man and that freaked him out. He behaved awful towards her but he still loved her and the thought of her seeing someone else was too much for him to bare.

He ran out of his room to go and apologize to Starfire for what he has done and beg her for forgiveness. He knew it wasn't going to be easy but as long as he was going to be sincere he was sure that she would believe him.

_"It's not too late yet"_ he thought as he ran down the hallway.

When he came near her room he noticed that the door was open and heard Starfire speaking to someone. At first, he thought it was Raven but as he approached, he realized that the voice was more masculine. He got nearer and nearer trying to make out who's voice it was.

_"Cyborg?"_ Robin asked himself _"No, if he's asleep he's only getting up because of his timer, the alarm or a nightmare, but not by noise! Beast Boy? It can't be, he left with Raven, and even so, the voice is too deep for Beast Boy"._

By the process of elimination the only one that could have been in the room with Starfire was Rage. He was now right next to her door and listening to what they were talking. He knew it was Rage when he heard the way he talked and his accent.

_"Rage? What's he doing here? He said he didn't have time for girls ...Wait! No ... He wouldn't do it, would he? And Starfire would never double cross me ..."_ thought Robin to himself suspiciously and trying to make out the noises that were coming from inside.

He listened carefully and even took a small peak trying not to be discovered.

" ... I'll always be here for you" said Rage.

_"Now what's that suppose to mean?" _said Robin quietly as not to make him self heard. He continued listening and looking, and noticed Starfire pulling herself closer to Rage. _"What is she doing?" _he again asked himself _"She can't fall for stuff like that ... could she? Or is she just trying to get back at me? Or does she really like him?"._

"Rage, I wish to offer you something special. Something that I only give to those who are most special to me" said Starfire from inside.

_"Most special to her? I'm suppose to be the one that's most special to her"_ thought Robin as he observed with a high interest the scene in front of him.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rage.

"This ..." replied Starfire while leaning in towards him.


	26. Chapter 11 Part 5

A/N: I was really expecting that review S.t.S, thanks :) ... And stay tuned for the next chapters ;). Btw, this is a shorter one.

**Part 5 – Dream a little dream**

The sight of Starfire leaning in towards another man made Robin withdraw his eyes from the scene. He knew he had it coming to him, he knew he deserved it after what he had done, but still this was too much for him and he couldn't accept it. For a moment he wanted to go in, strangle Rage and beat him into submission but that thought soon faded away. Instead, heart broken, confused, stressed and exhausted, Robin left Starfire's room and headed towards the rooftop.

He couldn't bare going back and start an argument or a fight knowing how this would probably cause even more problems, both to him and his one love, but he also didn't like the thought of going back to his room, the place where he practically pushed the one he cared most for away from him in the most violent manner.

When he arrived to the roof, he sat down next to the metallic wall of a vent way, with his knees to his chest and looked up to the night sky. He then checked his communicator watch that read 2:54 but there was something about the sky that he couldn't help notice. The moon was no where in sight, there were only stars twinkling. The stars reminded him of his girlfriend, just like they did even before they were a together. He started thinking about everything they went through and the way he acted that night, and came to the conclusion that his conscience was right. With low self esteem, he agreed that he was indeed a failure. He remembered feeling this way after he lost his parents. Now, he lost the only person alive he cared most for.

_"I am a failure"_ he said to himself almost crying.

After a small pause during which he had flashes of him and Starfire together, or just of Starfire in all of her alien beauty, he was again struck by thoughts, only this time they weren't sad or nihilistic.

_"RAGE!"_ a voice in Robin's head seem to shout _"You know Starfire would never leave you, it's all his fault. You're an idiot for believing he's a friend. He waited for this moment all this time and you didn't even notice he was hitting on her. Starfire isn't the one to blame, she was only confused because of your stupid reaction, it was Rage that manipulated her, dragging her away from you, breaking you two apart, making you lose what you love most"._

In the condition he was Robin agreed that this was the truth, the truth that he failed to notice. Again another failure. Anger filled Robin's heart and in his mind there were voices that yelled out _"Revenge"_, _"Traitor"_, _"Liar"_, _"Manipulator"_, _"Enemy"_, _"Blood"_, _"Death"_ and many other words, all of which either characterized Rage or were actions Robin had to take against his 'friend'.

At about 3:13 he fell asleep with a load of thoughts on his mind, all of them negative and all of them blood thirsty for revenge. During his sleep he had nightmares of everything that has gone wrong in his life time and all of the problems that have originated from his actions.

The nightmare was continuous. From the death of his parents, to leaving Batman, to the fact that he couldn't find Slade, the images and memories of him failing succeeded one another. Everything he was dreaming was covered in black and red, but all of the sudden, when he felt that he couldn't bear anymore of this torture, a white light cast the negative images away from his sight. He looked towards the light and saw someone approaching. At first he couldn't make out who it was but as the silhouettes got nearer and nearer he saw a women and a man. When he finally saw who it was he was stunned. The people who approached him and made everything bad go away were his mother and father. Robin ran and tried to embrace them but it was as though a spiritual wall kept him away from his parents.

"Mom, dad, please, help me!" Robin cried out not realizing that it was only a dream

His father and mother approached even more and now faced him.

"Why do you need help Richard? What's wrong?" the image of his father asked.

"I can't - I can't do anything good, everything I do, everything I accomplish goes to waste, everyone I care for is hurt because of me. I'm a failure, please, help me!" replied Robin in despair.

As he practically fell to his knees the image of his mother helped him pulling him up gently by placing her hand under his chin.

"Why are you saying these things Richie?" his mother asked "My boy is not a failure. Me and your father even if we're not alive anymore still look after you and we are proud of what you have done".

"You're proud of a failure? You're proud of a pathetic excuse for a hero?"

"No Richard, we're not proud of you because of this, we are proud of you for all the good things you have accomplished" his father answered.

The images of his mother and father were now along side him and pointed towards the light. The light started to change and images of Robin's successes revolved around. From the first criminal he apprehended, to saving the world from Trigon, to admitting his commitment towards Starfire, all these images reminded Robin of how he prevailed over his fears.

When the images stopped flashing his mother and father went in front of him.

"We are proud of everything that you have done Richie, and all the people that you have helped are glad that someone like you exists" said his mother as both her and Robin's father started to easily fade in the light. "See Richie, you don't need help, all you need is confidence, trust others, protect that which you love most and stop those that try to ruin your life or the life of others"

"But, how can I do that? I'm not sure I can trust anyone anymore, not even myself_"_ replied Robin as he watched his parents slowly disappearing again.

"Go the right way Richard, go the right way! Remember these words and they will help you" his father said.

As the image of his parents faded away in the growing bright light Robin heard a last encouragement from his parent: "We love you son".


	27. Chapter 11 Part 6

A/N: I think you'll really like this one ... Enjoy!

**Part 6 - Revenge**

When Robin's parents completely disappeared the light grew in intensity and got so bright that it nearly blinded Robin forcing him to cover his eyes.

After this moment of high spiritual intensity he opened his eyes and saw the sun that was almost up. He rubbed his eyes and realized that all of what he had experienced was only a dream yet he felt that the intervention of his parents was real and somehow of divine interference even if he didn't believe in any particular divinity before. He checked the time on his communicator and noticed that it was 8:47.

He laid on his back and tried to remember the advice given to him by his parents in the dream he previously had, and thought about how to use this advice to repair the damage he caused the night before.

As he was still thinking, pondering, lying in the exact place where he slept, he hears the door open. At first, he would have hoped it to be Starfire, that would have made his situation much easier, but it was worst, for the one that appeared was Rage.

Rage went to the roof top after waking up a little bit later than he usually did. He decided to start work after his usual morning routine. When he got there he didn't notice Robin as he was more than sure he was in his room sleeping. He went near the edge and stretched a bit and afterwards he mumbled something in his native language that Robin did not understand and seemed to just look at the sight in front of him and get ready for what laid ahead.

Robin kept looking at him and remembered what Rage had done. Anger soon got hold of him and he remembered what his mother told him: _"... protect that which you love most and stop those that try to ruin you life or the life of others"._

Rage had a bright smile on his face as he was looking at the reflection of the morning sun in the ocean bay and seemed to be in a good disposition. He took out a cigarette from his pack that he had in his pocket and lighted it up blowing out the smoke in a very relaxed and distinguished manner.

_"Look at him! That pig is actually feeling good about what happened. I was right! I was a fool for thinking he was a friend. He waited for the exact moment to strike and he did it, he took Starfire away from me ... I'm going to make that scar even bigger and wipe that smirk of his face once and for all!"_ said Robin to himself determined to get rid of the one he thought was his friend.

Pulling himself up, Robin furiously headed towards a relaxed Rage trying not to attract his attention.

"RAGE!" he suddenly yelled out startling his 'friend'.

Rage turned around a bit baffled and surprised to find Robin up on the roof top at this hour.

_"What's going on here? How come I did not hear the door open? Why is Robin shouting my name out? And what happened to him last night?"_ Rage asked himself not knowing how to react. When he saw Robin approaching with a strange yet familiar expression on his face he decided to play it cool so as to help him.

"Good morning Robin, how is it going?" he asked taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

Before Rage could ask another question Robin somersaulted and kicked him in the head making Rage fly across the roof top, dropping his cigarette in the process, and landing about 8 yards behind the place he was first standing.

"Don't ever talk to me you home wrecker" Robin shouted infuriated.

The kick came to Rage like an ice-cold shower on an extremely hot summer day, bringing him back to reality in a shocking way. The power of that kick was indeed great; he felt as though the world around him was circling.

"Are you out of your mind? What the hell was that for?" asked Rage while rubbing his temple that bled.

Seeing the blood drip down on Rage's face made Robin even more blood-thirsty. He jumped and tried to kick him again but Rage draw back just in the nick of time. The attack didn't end here though, Robin continued his assault trying to hurt his former friend but Rage just went back with every one of Robin's blows avoiding his furious punches and kicks.

"Robin slow down! You're acting crazy!" said Rage trying to calm him down.

"You acted like a traitor last night by stealing Starfire away from me" replied Robin who again somersaulted into the air.

"Wait! ... What?" asked Rage (acting in the way that Robin considered as "playing dumb") who, because of his hesitant question, received a punch straight in the face.

After that punch Rage received several other heavy punches and kicks from Robin. He pulled himself away but he still seemed not to know what Robin was talking about.

"Robin, I don't know what came over you but you're crazy" said Rage "I do not understand, I did not do anything to Starfire last night!"

"LIAR!" Robin again shouted and attacking his former friend.

This time Robin didn't miss. He pinned Rage to the metallic door and started to pound and stomp him violently. Rage couldn't do much as Robin was clearly superior in strength because of the anger that put a hold on him, and he was still shocked that Robin even acted like this.

As Rage managed to pull back yet again Robin waited a second to catch his breath.

"Look Robin, I really do not know what you are talking about. Nothing went on last night between me and Starfire, I swear" said Rage while pressing down on his stomach because of the pain.

Rage's excuses only made Robin even angrier and he again started to beat him.

"I took you into our home. I tried to understand you. I gave you all of my trust. And this is how you repay me? By taking Starfire away from me? Beast Boy was right, you really are nothing more then a psycho" Robin yelled out while hitting Rage after he finishing every sentence.

Robin took Rage and threw him on the roof and tried to punch him in the face again but just as he prepared to strike, Rage, who was now bleeding from several places on his face and started to bruise, got up with his eyes turned blood red.

"Robin that's enough!" Rage shouted in anger and hit Robin in the chest stopping and making him drop to the ground.

Rage seized the opportunity and grabbed Robin from behind pinning him down to the roof floor and smashing his face twice on the concrete. After he finished he still kept Robin in a tight lock.

"Look!" said Rage who now sounded like he was giving orders "I do not know what you mean when you are saying that I stole Starfire away from you but come to your senses already! I did not take her away from you, she would never do such a thing and I would never betray you".

"Don't play stupid Rage!" replied Robin as he struggled to brake free "I heard and saw you two last night in her room, you talked her away from me and she kissed you"

"I did no such thing! And neither did Starfire!" protested Rage "Where did you get these stupid ideas from?"

"I heard you two talk and I heard you saying you'll always be there for her, she said she wanted to give you something special and she leaned in towards you and you two kissed. You can't fool me Rage, I know you planed to brake us apart and move in for a long time you traitor" replied Robin as he was still struggling.

Robin felt the grip on one of his hands loosen up and all of the sudden saw Rage's fist in front of his face only something was different about his hand but couldn't make out what.

"Look here!" ordered Rage while waving his fist in front of Robin.

At first Robin thought that Rage will hit him but he didn't, he just tried to get his attention. Robin then noticed something strange. Rage was wearing some sort of purple bracelet with strange inscription on it. He remembered seeing these inscriptions before on Tamaran.

_"Something special?"_ Robin thought to himself _"Wait, could this be it?"_

"See this Robin? This was the 'special thing' Starfire gave me" said Rage confirming Robin's hunch even though he had no idea about it "And Starfire did not lean in for a kiss, she only hugged me, that is all. In fact, she hugs everyone, or haven't you noticed that?"

"I guess I didn't" replied Robin understanding now what might have happened.

"Well then let me tell you what really went on. I tried to calm her down as she was crying because of you. I didn't want things going wrong between you two. After I convinced her you were under a lot of stress, she hugged me and offered me this bracelet"

"She never gave me one of those" said Robin suspicious of the reason Starfire gave Rage that gift.

"She told me it's some kind of good luck charm, and believe me ... you don't need it, and you will never need it. This work has gotten you paranoid. Suspecting Starfire of leaving you is stupid. She loves you much more than you know it and I would never want anything to go wrong between you two. She was desperate about losing you and didn't know how to make things better, that's why I tried to calm her down. She loves you so much that she would be capable of even sacrificing herself for you. You are lucky for having a girlfriend like her, but stupid for accusing her of such things. Wake the hell up already!"

Robin was now breathing slowly and felt ashamed of what he did. "You're telling the truth right?"

"Do I sound like I am lying to you?" asked Rage in a rhetorically.

"No" Robin sighed "You don't, and I'm sorry for thinking -"

Robin couldn't finish his sentence because all of the sudden he felt like Rage let him go, but not in a normal way, more like he was pushed away by someone. He heard a zapping noise of sorts and then saw Rage fly over him landing and rolling on the roof floor. He turned around and saw Starfire with a furious expression on her face, her hands forming star bolts and her eyes emanating green energy.

"Keep your filthy hands off of my lover you sick man" yelled Starfire who now walked towards Rage with one hand facing him.

Robin was touched by Starfire's reaction and noticed how much she cared for him. He realized what a jerk he really was and decided to make things better.

As Starfire headed for Rage, Robin pulled himself up and took Starfire's hand. She was so furious about Rage that she forgot about attending to the one she loved.

"Starfire don't hurt him, it wasn't his fault, it was mine"

"Robin?" asked Starfire who was surprised to see him this way "Are you alright? Are you injured? How may I assist you? What has Rage done?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down princess" replied Robin "It was my fault, Rage didn't do anything, he cleared things up for me"

Seeing Robin back to normal, apologizing and taking credit for what he had done made Starfire weak in the knees and she almost fell down if it wasn't for him.

"Oh Robin! I thought I had lost you" she cried.

Robin embraced his loved one and settled down with her when both of them heard a voice.

"Ugh!" Rage moaned while rubbing his back "No wonder you two love each other, you are one violent heck of a couple. Ouch! I'll be downstairs washing up and making breakfast if you need me".

The two watched Rage leave and were kind of intrigued by his attitude. No yelling? No ranting? Joking after being suspected and getting his ass kicked? It was a pleasant sight to see and a good change that suited him.

"Robin what has happened? Why was Rage above you and holding you down?" Starfire asked while looking at his wounded face.

"It's all my fault, I thought you and him ... I thought you fell for him and I was jealous thinking that he made you do this so I wanted to hurt him but he cleared things up".

"I did not fall for him Robin, I love you and only you and I would never do anything to hurt you. I am so glad to see you are back to your former kind self" she replied while hugging him tightly.

"Star, I want to apologize for the way I acted last night. I said things I truly regret and I don't know if you can forgive me but I'm sorry and hope that you will still love me and accept me. I'm sorry princess".

"You must not apologize, for in my heart I have never felt wrong towards you. Even when I have given you the slap it was because I was confused. I now understand why you reacted that way and it was not your fault. I love you and will love you until the end of time"

"Till death do us part" Robin replied, pulling Starfire towards him gently and kissing her.

The kiss felt like their first one. Sudden, spontaneous, full of passion, innocent and full of forgiveness.

After they separated they stared into each others eyes and Starfire's face lighted up with happiness.

"I'm so glad we worked this whole thing out" said Robin

"The feeling is likewise" she replied. Starfire's smile suddenly turned to a normal expression as if she had something on her mind. "Robin, I must tell you something very important and I hope that you will be just as happy as me about this news".

Robin was surprised and was caught on the wrong foot. What news could she probably bring him that would make him even happier then he already was?

"Yes, you can tell me, what is it?" he asked with a calm voice

"It is not easy for me to say it, but ... Do you remember the night of the eclipse and of the shower of meteors?" she asked

Robin did in fact remember that night; it was the night they first truly 'got together'.

"Of course I do, it was one of our most special moments together. How could I forget?! It was wonderful."

"Indeed it was, but do you also recall before the communicator alarm rang that I tried to tell you something?"

"Yes I do, why do you ask?"

"Well … I wanted to let you know something of great importance but I did not get to tell you and you must know this right now" she said and got up on her knees. Robin did the same and Starfire held his hands. "You see, after such an act occurs, a Tamarnean girl becomes a woman and also a glorious thing happens to us"

Robin didn't understand what she was saying but soon realized and started to breath heavily.

"Starfire, what are you trying to say?" he asked in confusion

Starfire took Robin's hand and placed it on her lower stomach. He felt like something was there and he was instantly stunned. Facing Starfire with his mouth wide open and turning crimson, he didn't know what to say.

With a warm smile on her face, with joy and happiness in he heart and tears in her eyes Starfire told Robin what was happening.

"Robin, I am going to have your baby. You will be a father and I will be a mother".


	28. Chapter 12 Part 1

**Chapter 12 - From bad to good**

Part 1 - A new beginning?

_"Awakening sequence initiated. Local Time: 9:00 A.M."_.

Cyborg woke up in his room unaware of what went on in the tower that night. After stretching he checked his schedule for the day and decided to charge up his batteries for what laid ahead. The charge up lasted only five minutes due to the fact that Cyborg upgraded his system and that he now lost energy much harder then before. When he woke up his energy meter read 65.

After charging up he felt hungry and decided to go to the kitchen where more then probably Rage was already preparing breakfast for the team. Walking down the hallway towards the main room he remembered about Robin and wanted to check up on him seeing how he was the second in command and wanted to know what his friend and leader was doing so as to know how to take action if his condition deteriorated even more then it already had.

He knocked on his door but there was no response from the inside. Figuring that this could just be Robin not answering and acting all determined on catching Slade and ignoring him Cyborg thought that a small glimpse inside wouldn't do much harm. Little did he know that if he tried this just a few hours earlier, things could have ended really ugly.

He silently opened the door and looked inside but to his surprise, Robin wasn't there. This seemed very strange as he knew that Robin wouldn't go searching for Slade at this time of day.

_"Maybe he's just out for a breath of fresh air"_ he thought to himself trying to explain Robin's absence from his room.

With that in mind Cyborg decided to have breakfast and after that see if his hunch was right. Being a loyal friend he hoped that Robin didn't just go out to get some air. Instead, he hoped that he came back to his senses and act normal again.

The door opened with a light hissing sound and the sight of Rage in the kitchen preparing breakfast was something Cyborg got used to. After all, Rage became sort of a butler and house keeper ever since he moved in. He walked over to the fridge to get some water as his mouth was cotton dry.

"Mornin' Rage, what's new?" Cyborg asked trying to start a conversation while getting the bottle of water.

"Good morning ... just making some pancakes and boiling water for the usual morning coffee. I'll be finished in a minute, just take a seat and you'll get it" replied Rage with his head buried in his shoulders as if he tried to hide something.

Cyborg drank some water and placed the plastic bottle back in the fridge. As he was heading for the table the smell of the pancakes Rage was cooking hit him and he went over to he stove to have a good smell.

"Um-umm, that's what I call good cooking. Sure can't wait to wolf'em down" Cyborg said while rubbing his hands with delight.

"Right … well, just take a seat and I'll bring it to you in a minute" replied Rage, who now seemed to hide his face away from his friend.

Cyborg noticed Rage's unfamiliar behavior and wondered why he would hide his appearance from him. He knew about the scar, that wasn't something new, so what did he have to hide from him?  
_  
_"You alright man?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'm fine. I just have an itch I can't get to" Rage replied still hiding his face.

Cyborg knew something wasn't right, he could recognize these types of things from a mile away and now he wanted to find out what was wrong with his training buddy that he didn't want him to know. He looked closely to what he could see of Rage's face and noticed some dry blood on his temple. That wasn't a good sign because that wasn't just some dry blood, it was a wound. Also he noticed some peculiar spots on the collar and on the right side of his military type shirt that looked just like blood.

"Hey man, where did you get that blood all over you? And what happened to your temple? You hurt yourself or what?" Cyborg asked a little bit worried, a little bit suspicious and a little bit intrigued.

"I ... fell down some ... stairs ... when I came down from the roof this morning. It's nothing big really, just a little scratch" he responded nervously not trying to attract too much attention to himself, let alone his new wound.

"Right ... You fell down some stairs" said Cyborg in a sarcastic manner not believing a word he said.

Rage then turned around and flipped the pancake he was cooking and Cyborg could see the scar now even better, but Rage didn't seem to want to talk about how he got it.

"Tell you what, you go sit down, I'll bring breakfast, and after we eat I'll tell you what happened" said Rage trying to avoid talking, but giving his friend a subtle hint that he didn't hurt himself by 'falling down the stairs'.

Cyborg didn't understand why Rage wouldn't tell him what happened but he knew his character and decided to play along. He went over to the table, sat down and checked his schedule one more time. A few minutes went by quietly and then Raven and Beast Boy came in. They looked different from how they usually did in the morning. They were quiet and didn't even greet their friends; they just went to the table and sat down.

Rage avoiding him, Raven and Beast Boy being quiet, Robin out of his room, all of these things made Cyborg realize that something happened that night, something bad.

"Hey guys, err ... what's up?" asked Cyborg trying to start a conversation

"Oh hi metal-butt, I didn't know you were here" replied Beast Boy trying to play it cool.

Beast Boy just stared at the table and crossed his hands waving his feet and being unfamiliarly quiet and Raven rubbed her chin with her palm as if she was thinking about something. Her worried appearance betrayed her, Cyborg figured out something wasn't right.

"All right you two, what's going on around here that I don't about?" he asked in a frustrated tone.

The two immediately turned their attention to Cyborg and didn't know what to say.

"Err, nothing man, we're just tired that's all, he he" BB replied hesitant.

All of this hesitation was getting on Cyborgs nerves. What was so freakin' important that they didn't want him to know?

"Beast Boy!" he said while narrowing his eyes at his friend.

The tension was growing as Cyborg became more and more inpatient but Raven turned around towards him and placed her index finger near her lips.

"Come here" she whispered to her friend who got closer "Look something not so great went on last night"

"What do you mean?"

"Robin and Starfire had a fight, a really ugly one, but be quiet about it, I'll tell you all about it later" Raven continued whispering.

Cyborg started to understand why they were so quiet this morning but still didn't know exactly what happened. He wanted to ask Raven and BB for more information but just as he opened his mouth he was cut off by Rage from the other side of the room.

"You know I can hear you guys whispering back there" he said "And I don't know why you do that but Cyborg is part of the team and he has the right to know what happened last night, so just go on and tell him already".

The others soon became aware that they were keeping things from each other so they finally decided to talk about the fight.

"So, any chance I'll find out what you were keeping from me anytime soon?" asked Cyborg

"Okay!" Raven sighed "Last night I was worried about how things were going ever since Slade came back. I was thinking about Robin and Starfire and remembered how unhappy she's been these last few weeks so I decided to go and talk to her".

"I see ... and at what time of night did this happen?"

"I think it was about 1:30 or 2:00, or something in between" BB interrupted.

"So anyway" Raven continued after a small pause "I went over to Star's room and found her worrying about Robin so I talked her into going over and try to straighten things out with him but after about 10 minutes after she left I heard her crying"

"Crying? Why?"

"She had a fight with Robin and he tried to hurt her" BB replied again hesitant

"He did what? ... Man are you serious?".

Cyborg couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Robin can get irritated now and then but this was too much even for him. He knew about how Robin felt for Starfire ever since they began being a team and now hearing that he tried to hurt the person he cared most for had utterly shocked him.

"I'm dead serious, but things went okay. Or at least I hope they did".

"What do you mean?"

"Well after Star told me what happened I went over to Robin and taught him a lesson but we don't know how he is right now or if he took into consideration what I told him" replied Raven

"Well I don't have to be a genius to figure out that you hurt him" said Cyborg "But what about Starfire? What happened to her?"

That was a question even Raven and Beast Boy couldn't answer because they went to their room after the whole incident occurred and left Starfire with Rage who was suppose to and calm her down.

"Hey Rage!" BB called out "What did you do last night while you were with Starfire? Did things go okay".

"Well yes, things went on pretty smooth if I do say so my self" he replied with a confident tone "I made Starfire realize that this was just a phase Robin needed to get over and that he didn't mean what he said. Needles to say, she cooled down and went to sleep peacefully with no worries what so ever ... or at least that's what it looked like"

"Peacefuly ey?" Cyborg sighed skeptical "If that's so then how did you get that blood on your temple and on your shirt? And don't give us that 'I fell down the stairs' routine again 'couse it won't work".

Cyborg always thought about Starfire being his smaller and naive sister and considered himself as a bigger and over protective brother, so seeing Rage covered with blood and wounded made himself question the truth of his friend's confident answer. What if he did something last night that upset Starfire even more and she hit him thus resulting the blood?

Rage was now nervous and edgy but didn't show it. He didn't want the others to know Robin snapped and hit him but how else could he explain the blood on his clothes?

_"Damn it ... What am I going to tell them?"_ Rage asked himself while continuing to prepare breakfast so that he wouldn't arouse any suspicions _"If I tell them what happened they'll freak out and act as if Robin lost it completely ... but come to think of it his face is a bit swollen up from the fight and when he will come down they're going to notice it and figure out what we did"_

"Hey Rage" Cyborg called out "I asked you a question man! Where did you get that blood all over you?"

"It's hard to say, I don't want to talk about it" he replied back trying to appear calm

"Rage, we know you're lying" said Raven who also became suspicious "... and listen carefully, I know you're more of a secluded type of person but you're keeping to much from us and as your friends and team mates we have to know what happened. Now spit it out! Where did that blood come from? Huh? Did you get it because of Starfire?"

Rage realized he was on thin ice but he didn't want his friends thinking he did something wrong. After all, he acted abnormal before and another wrong step would have made his stay with the titans rather unsure and the strange thing was that this time he didn't do anything wrong. He stopped cooking and sighed deeply realizing that his team mates were right and that they had the right to know what happened, even if it would mean giving Robin a bad image.

He turned around to face them. While all of them noticed the blood spots on his shirt and the wound on his temple, Rage started speaking:

"Okay, I will tell you what happened but it's not going to be something you would have wanted to hear. You see last night I -" said Rage, but cut his speech short.

The reason Rage stopped was that he heard the hissing sound of the main room door opening and knew what this meant. The others were expecting to see Starfire come in. They hoped she could shed some light on the events that might have taken place that night but contrary to what they were expecting they saw Robin and Starfire entering the room holding hands with excited and joyous expressions on their faces.

After knowing that they had an ugly argument the other night the others were amazed to see them like this. They didn't believe that the two love birds would make up so quickly.

While the others just watched with their mouths wide open Robin and Starfire walking to the table and sitting down, Rage smiled and seemed to lighten up for a change. He looked as if he was pleased but nobody noticed, instead he just turned around and continued what he was doing, and breakfast was almost done.

Robin and Starfire sat down together and greeted the others.

"Good morning to you all, is it not a beautiful day in which to celebrate the reuniting of true friends?" She said with a great smile on her face.

"Er, yes it is ..." Raven replied still baffled though "So, everything worked out fine?" she asked.

"Everything is okay now and it seems like I owe you guys an apology" started Robin "Rage, come here, you have to hear this too".

Rage came over to the table after placing what he was preparing next to the oven. He hoped Robin wouldn't bring up the fight they had earlier for he already thought up of an excuse that would work.

"Gather round, come on, all of you" Robin demanded in a friendly and lively manner.

"Dude, you don't need to apologize, we know what you've been through and - " Beast Boy tried to say but was cut of by his friend.

"Nuh-uh-uh-uh! Not another word. Please, just let me explain" he said with a tone of regret in his voice "Look, these past few weeks I've been acting like a complete jerk: not talking to you guys, ignoring you, shouting at you, I didn't even want to hear what you were saying, but thanks to you I came to know what was really important to me and I've also realized that I was treating wrong the people that I cared the most for and I don't know if I deserve it, I mean I don't even forgive my self, but I hope you guys will forgive me and still treat me like a friend even if I didn't treat you this way these last weeks ... I'm sorry guys."

Robin's apology was a really touching one, the others sensing that he was honest and said it from the heart. Cyborg approached him and grabbed him with his arm by the neck.

"Oh you didn't have to do that man! You're our friend, and friends are supposed to stick together and forgive one another" he said trying to raise his friend's moral.

"We know what you've been through" Beast Boy continued "We all have been in the same situation in the past ... more or less ... but every time we managed to stick together and now is no exception"

"It's good to have you back Robin and I'm sorry for hurting you last night. I guess I got carried away" said Raven being a little sorry that she had to resort to violence.

"I'm glad you guys forgave me" Robin replied "And don't worry Raven, those kicks and punches were something I really needed. Thanks to you I've started questioning my ways and noticed that you were right. From now on I promise to change the way I work and pay more attention, but not to my team though, but to my true friends who were always there for me and supported me, and I also promise that I'll always remain true to you guys"

After these words of wisdom they all cheered and congratulated Robin for his wise decision but they were interrupted by a cough.

"Eheem, sorry to interrupt you guys but I figured that moments like these need to be celebrated, and what better way to celebrate than with a delicious breakfast shared with all of your friends?". The one who interrupted was Rage, he was holding a big plate full of pancakes and maple syrup.

"Splendid idea" Starfire cheered "But before the breakfast of the cakes of pan and the syrup of maple, me and Robin would like to tell you something very important, something that might surprise you but also joy you just as it joys us".

Another announcement? This seemed very eerie, and the way Starfire sounded seemed as though she implied she and Robin wanted to take their relationship even further. One word was on every ones mind ... they were close none the less, yet still wrong.

"Oh yes!" Robin remembered and cleared his throat "Guys, we want to tell you something. You see, over this last period of time me and Star got to be close, very close actually, and in the near future there's going to be a change in the tower, a very special one".

_"Marriage"_ was the word that was on everyone's mind. Rage left before Starfire told Robin about what she kept from him so even he thought they were talking about tying the knot.

"So, what's this change you two are talking about?" asked Raven winking.

"I am glad you have asked" said Starfire "Friends, joyous will be the day when this change will come for in that day the tower will hold not six but seven souls in it".

"Oh my God!" the rest of the team exclaimed to them selves realizing what Starfire and Robin were talking about.

"Star?!?" slowly sighed Cyborg confused.

"No way!" exclaimed Beast Boy who was pleasantly surprised and stuttered "You mean you two? You mean Starfire? You're going to have a ..."

"... baby?" asked Raven beating BB to the final question.

"Yes! Is it not wonderful? The fruit of Robin's love and mine will come to be in eight months from now"

Hearing the news the others congratulated the two soon-to-be parents and started talking about the 'future titan'. Rage brought breakfast and all of them were in a mood they haven't experienced in a long time. All together, all united, all happy, this was the true team spirit.

While eating Raven and BB held hands. They were both thinking about the same thing. If Robin and Starfire have a child, they were likely to be next.

Even so, with all the good disposition going around, Raven's habit of always asking questions and always searching for answers didn't disappear.

"By the way Robin, I'm sorry for those bruises on you face, do they hurt?" she asked thinking she was the one to blame.

"Well yeah, they do hurt a little but it wasn't you who made them, Starfire's slap was so hard that my face couldn't take it" he said while kissing Starfire on her cheek so that nobody would think he was complaining. Secretly, just as Rage, Robin didn't want the others to know about their fight.

"What about you Rage?" Raven continued "You still haven't told us how you got that blood all over your shirt".

When Raven asked that question Rage was chewing his food, but being surprised (and also startled) of what his friend said, he swallowed his breakfast with a big gulp. All of the team was looking at him and saw Robin with a worried expression on his face. Luckily for both of them, he had made up a lie that would save both their butts and put an end to their friend's curiosity.

"Yeah well, like I said before, I don't think you'll be pleased by what you will hear. Are you really sure you want to find out?" he stated making Robin worry even more.

"Come on, you can tell us anything" Cyborg replied showing of a good deal of indulgence.

"Okay I will tell you. Last night after I left Starfire's room an old problem started to act up again. I had a sudden out burst of anger that I could not control and I started acting like a maniac again hitting things like crazy. Because of this I hit my head in the metal door on the roof thus resulting the blood and also the scar".

"So you still have problems with controlling your anger and violent emotions?" asked Starfire playing along, knowing he was trying not to alert his team mates about what really happened.

"See, this is why I did not want to speak about it!" said Rage, but with no sign of irritation in his voice "Instead of enjoying our selves we're talking about my personal problems. All I can say is that I'm going to get over this very soon, so don't worry about it. In the mean time let's enjoy life and let our problems behind for a moment"

The others now seemed to understand why Rage didn't want to talk so much about himself, but Robin still had doubts. He knew Rage made the story up and wanted to eventually find out what he was hiding.


	29. Chapter 12 Part 2

**Part 2 - Overview  
**

After having breakfast the titans went over to the couch to watch some TV. They sat down, clicked around the channels and talked about Robin and Starfire's future child. As they were relaxing Rage cleaned the table, washed the dishes and cutlery, putting them in their designated place and cleaned the stove of any uncooked or burnt pancake mix. When he was done the others were paying attention to a program on TV so he decided not to disturb them. After all, they went through a lot and needed some time off.

He decided to go to the training room and work out instead. As he walked to the door, he thought it wouldn't hurt if he told his friends where to find him.

"Excuse me, I'm going to be in the gym if anyone needs me, just shout if you need any help or something" he said as he walked off.

The titans didn't seem to have heard Rage but Robin heard him clearly. A thought came into his mind and thought he should have a small talk with his friend. He excused himself and left the room trying to catch up with Rage. Fortunately for him he didn't have to walk to far as Rage was just on his way towards the stairs.

"Rage, wait a second" Robin called out.

"Yes Robin, may I be of assistance in any form?" he asked

"No, I just wanted to thank you for not telling the others about our little scrap earlier, I'm really grateful for that".

"Not to worry, it was in the interest of all the team to keep quiet about that ... including me too"

"I suppose, but I also want to apologize personally for starting that fight and for thinking you were hitting on Starfire and -"

"That will not be necessary either" Rage interrupted "I have already forgiven you, don't worry about it".

"You have? How come?"

"How come what?"

"How come you forgave me so quickly? I don't mean to sound annoying or ungrateful but you didn't act like this before".

"How come you came to apologize to me personally when you already did that at the table?" Rage asked rhetorically while chuckling "I just did, I understand what you went through and I considered I didn't have any reason to be mad at you. It's for the best after all".

"Yeah, you're right, it's just that with all of that work and the threat Slade gave me ... all of it just made me go nuts and stopped me from thinking clearly"

"I see you have an obsession with this Slade character, the others told me about your problems with him in the past"

"Well I guess you can call it an obsession, he was the only villain I never got rid of, and even when I thought he was gone, he came back. He's like a thorn in my spine. I don't think if you know how it is, but this thing can make you rot from the inside out".

"So I have noticed" Rage replied "And to be honest I have a similar obsession with one individual, but coming back to what you said, you must realize one thing, this Slade guy is as treacherous as a fox, he prepares his moves wisely and plans his attack with great precision. I do not want to seem like I am supporting him, but he appears to be a good tactician, a real good one in fact".

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Robin asked baffled, not understanding where Rage wanted to go with this.

"Come on! It is as obvious as light during the day ... wait, you have no idea what I'm talking about right?".

"I understand a bit, but not completely".

"Well, seeing how you encountered him in the past I guess you might have noticed how he sometimes postpones his attack, just like he's doing now".

"Yeah I noticed that, and your point is?".

"My point is that he knows you are at some level obsessed with him and he uses this to his advantage. He doesn't attack yet because he knows that you will search for him if he acts out, he knows you won't stop searching for him, and most of all, he knows you will blame yourself and eventually have a break down thus starting to separate yourself from the team ... and you did do that these last weeks ... and finally split up. Divide and conquer, this is what strategy he uses. And take into notice that if it wasn't for Starfire and Raven, maybe his plan might have worked".

"Hmmm, interesting conclusion" said Robin while rubbing his chin "But how do you know this? How can you be sure that this is what he was planning?"

"I was in the army, remember? This is one of the things they taught me, find out what my enemies plan of action is and use it to my advantage, but I am not 100 sure that this is what he was thinking. For all we know he could also be dead or maybe he lacks the necessary fire and man power, but if this not the case I am pretty sure that the scenario I thought about earlier is highly plausible".

"Could be, but if that's the case what do we do now?"

"We have to stay focused, that is all we can do for now. Remember, he plans on dividing the team and taking us out one by one, but when he will notice that this plan does not work he will try and lure us out or take the fight directly to us".

"I got it, and when he'll see his plan didn't work he'll slip up and then we come in and take him down" replied Robin while grinning and slamming his fist into his palm.

"That is correct, but until then we have to stay focused. It is his move now, let us wait and see what he does".

"I can't wait for him to slip up. After I'm done with him I'll make sure that he never rears his ugly face ever again"

"I just want to make him pay for his injustice ... and also for those two teeth I am missing. By the way, do you have any data on him I could look over?"

"Any?" Robin asked and slightly chuckled "I have everything you need to know about Slade, why do you ask?"

"I would like to read some more about him, get to know his past, his character and the way he used to fight".

"I don't have that much data about his past, and I don't know if I could lend you to much info, I still have some research to do ..."

"Oh no!" Rage interrupted "I know what you are going to say and I do not think it is a good idea. You should try and rehabilitate your situation with the team and think more about Starfire and your future child, not start over with that workaholic habit of yours. I do not mean to sound bossy but you should stop researching for a while, you know. But it is your choice, I do not want to seem like I'm interfering too much, so I will let you decide".

"But I'm so close to a brake through, I don't think I should stop right now when I'm so close".

"You mean the research should not stop. I think you could use a brake. You could enlist someone else to search for answers for you".

"Who? The only ones capable of not losing their temper would be Raven and Cyborg, but Raven is busy with Beast Boy and Cyborg should work on preparing defensive technology for the tower. Do you know anyone else?" Robin asked a bit disrespectful thinking that Rage didn't have so much faith in him.

"Well I always just train and read books, I guess I could help. After all, I do not have a busy schedule and I don't mind taking over researching for you".

"Are you sure? It's a lot of work and you wouldn't do much during the day then just read".

"It does not bother me, I want to catch him myself just as much as you do" said Rage who seemed to be getting restless for some reason.

Robin thought about Rage's proposal and agreed with him. He would take some time off and Rage would take over his work. At first he didn't like the idea but he considered that he had to be closer to Starfire during her pregnancy.

After giving Rage every file, map and info he got on Slade he directed him and pointed out where he should start his search from. Rage promised Robin that he would keep him up to date with anything that he might find.

Rage seemed very helpful after all, but knowing what happened with Terra Robin decided not to trust him 100. He decided instead to keep a close eye on him and see if he notices anything suspicious. He didn't like this seeing how he could be wrong about him, but doubt was in his nature and sometimes his nature was right!


	30. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 - And so it begins**

After the whole "Robin incident" fiasco life in the tower was getting back to normal with every day that passed. Due to the fact that Rage was now doing the research Robin had plenty of time to rehabilitate his situation with the team and be closer to Starfire during her time of pregnancy.

At first Robin thought this was going to be a disaster considering that Rage couldn't manage all that work but contrary to what he might have assumed Rage was keeping him up to date daily with new data and didn't even complain though his lack of sleep was rather evident.

"This doesn't make sense!" Robin said to himself one day "Why is he so keen on catching Slade? Sure he hates bad guys ... we all do ...but why spend all this time trying to figure out what Slade is planning as if he was your mortal enemy? Could it be because of the teeth he's missing? Could he consider that as a disgrace? Or is he really bent on catching every criminal he lays eyes on?"

He knew he couldn't get a straight answer and also knew that Rage wouldn't just barge in and tell him why he's working so hard.

"Just let him work" a voice in Robin's head said "After all, you'll be benefiting from his work too. For now, be quiet ... ask questions later"

He didn't like it but Robin played along asking himself why would his friend keep things from him after all this time.

With days passing by, Slade not showing any sign of activity, things beginning to cool down, Robin decided to leave these kinds of matters for later notice. After all, he had much more important things to attend to then pondering about the background of an unstable team mate.

It was a bright November morning in Jump City and the day started very promising. After breakfast all the titans, except Rage of course, went out to the park for a walk. It was something they didn't do for a long while so they decided to go out and spend some quality time together just like they did before.

Starfire was now the center of attention and was in her 2'nd month. Everyone was kind and careful with her and were always there to make her pregnancy a quiet one but no one was more protective of her as Robin.

The two were almost inseparable and Robin wouldn't let the mother of his child raise even a finger. When she needed something he would provide it. Secretly both of them knew how all this will end. Robin decided to propose to Starfire after she gave birth and Starfire decided to accept his proposal if he asked such a thing but until then they would just live a quiet life and wait for their offspring to be born.

Raven and Beast Boy were now even closer then ever. Seeing the way Robin and Starfire got closer made their bond even tighter. They were both thinking about one thing: _"If Robin and Star have a child, and things go okay, that means we can have a child of our own one day"_. They were spending a lot of time together and both of them changed completely. Raven wasn't the quiet and depressing goth girl she was before and BB wasn't the prankster he used to be. They became more mature and were now acting normal and even if Raven still liked to sometimes stay alone, and even if BB couldn't help himself from a joke or a prank now and then, they were still the lovable couple everyone in the tower admired for growing up together.

After hearing Star was pregnant Cyborg immediately considered it was his duty to see that she is always okay. Considering her as his little sister he swore to himself that if anything went wrong he would never forgive himself and that if anyone would try and harm her he would crush him (or her if it was the case) on the spot. In fact Cyborg loved Starfire just as much as Robin did but not in the sense of a relationship. And even so, with all the caring going around, he still had time to hang out with Robin and the other two love birds and give a word of advice or just a thought of wisdom when ever it was needed.

While walking down the sidewalks of the park the titans noticed all the people who seemed pleased to see them act like normal folks. Ever since Robin and Starfire and BB and Raven hooked up everyone in the city noticed them holding hands and knew that romance was now present up in titans tower. This wasn't a big surprise as people usually talked about how Robin would look good next to Starfire, but it was still a nice confirmation none the less.

While stopping for a breather they could see the people sometimes peeking at them and could hear them gossip or talk as they passed.

_"I told you BB had a thing for Raven, you owe me 5$ ... They look so sweet together don't they?"  
"Robin and Starfire really are together, good for them!"  
"Check it out, they're holding hands. I told ya they were made for each other"_

These were just a few phrases the titans could hear but acted like they didn't. Star and Raven would sometimes even giggle at hearing what people said and the boys liked the attention quite a lot.

The fact that people were happy to see them outside and talked about them meant that they still loved the titans and respected them not only as true heroes, but as real people too. This was actually a sort of relief for the titans because they haven't been so active frequently as crime was at a stand still and didn't know what people thought about them and assumed that they weren't so popular with the cities folk anymore.

After grabbing a couple of pizzas the titans headed back to the tower and planed what to do later on.

At the tower BB and Cyborg decided to play the game console to pass the time. As they played Raven was paying attention to their game and congratulated her boyfriend when he would win. Needles to say, Cyborg couldn't contain himself and just had to make a witty comment about Beast Boy that rocked his socks off, all to Cy and Raven's amusement.

Robin and Starfire sat down next to the window and talked. They liked the view of the city, especially in the afternoon when the clouds would turn orange and the light would reflect off the surface of the water on to the windows and the sandy shores of the island.  
_  
_"Robin, I was thinking, do you think our child will be a boy or a girl?" asked Starfire with a bright smile

"Hmm, I never thought about that" replied Robin a little intrigued "But come to think about it, it doesn't matter. I don't care what our child will be; the important thing is that we will have a family and a child to raise and that nothing will separate us".

"And you will be a good father, yes?"

"I'll be one of the best" Robin replied kissing her "And you will be a good mother, right Princes?"

"No doubt I shall be the best mother a bumgorf can ask for" she replied smiling "Yet, I was pondering, what name should we give to our child?"

For a moment Robin thought about her question but was interrupted.

"Are you alright?" she asked

"What? Oh yeah, I was only thinking about what you said"

"Well I have a suggestion. I was thinking that if we would have a son you should be the one to name him and if we have a daughter I could the one that names her".

"Yeah, that might work, it's a good idea" replied Robin happy of his loved one's proposal.

"So do you have a specific name you would like to give to our child if he is a boy?"

Robin thought about it and several names popped up into his mind but he wasn't sure which one to pick. After a few moments he decided.

"How about Bruce? What do you think of this name?" he asked

"It is a good name, but please, is not Bruce the name of your former mentor, the Batman?" Starfire asked trying not to remember Robin to much about Bruce Wayne.

"Yes it is, that's why I picked it" he replied.

"Correct me if I am wrong please, but I thought you and the Batman were not on speaking terms anymore and you have separated from his side because you had a misunderstanding. If it is so and you and the Batman do not talk to each other anymore why have you chosen this name?"

"Well Princes what you said was right" said Robin confirming what Star knew about his relation with his former mentor "Yeah, me and Bruce had our fair share of arguments and we might not talk that much now and I did go my own way thus upsetting him, but still, I can't forget that he was the one that raised me, the one who took me into his home, and the one who taught me everything I know today. Even if I'm mad at him I can't forget him and I decided to pick this name in his honor"

"I understand, you still honor the Batman do you not?"

"Yes, of course I do, but enough about that, did you think of a name for our child if it'll be a girl?" he asked trying to avoid a discussion about Batman and his past.

"Oh yes, for a long time actually. I think we should call her Mar'i "

"As in Mary or Maria or something like that?"

"No, Mar'i is a tamaranean name. In translation it would have the approximate meaning as the word 'pride' ".

"That's a well thought up name, I like it".

Yup! Everyone was feeling alright, they didn't have a care in the world. It's like they even forgot they were super heroes, it was a feeling they always loved to experience.

The clock now read 4:30. Things were going on okay until the titans heard the door slide open and Rage coming inside studying a map of the city. At first they thought he just came down to have some lunch while continuing his research.

"Hey was'up Rage? There's some pizza on the table if you're hungry" said Cyborg who was paying attention to the screen in front of him.

"Yeah, help yourself dude! You can have some of my veggie pizza if you want" sounded BB who didn't want to seem rude.

"Thanks, but I am not hungry. Robin! Can I have a word with you? There is something I think you should see" he called out.

Robin didn't notice him as he was hung up in his discussion with Starfire so Rage's call came to him like an abrupt awakening.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure" he replied getting up and walking along side Star escorting her to the couch.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything, am I?" said Rage trying not to sound sarcastic.

"Neah, it's alright. So what was it that you want me to see?" asked Robin observing his friend.

While Rage was working on the data his friend gave him Robin decided to keep a close eye on him and his habits but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Even so, it seemed that even he took work too seriously. He looked like he suffered from sleep depravation, he had bags under his eyes, his usually short trimmed beard had now grown and even if he said he was okay his lack of sleep and relaxation was more than evident.

"One second!" said Rage as he lighted up a cigarette and then unfolded a marked map of Jump City on the kitchen counter. "I think I might have found something interesting. I've read your notes on Slade's possible location and I found out why his last three bases were situated in sectors 13, 14 and 15".

"Because of the underground volcanic source of sectors 13 and 15 and the abandoned iron factory in sector 14? I already knew that!" he replied sounding not so impressed about Rage's find.

"No, it is not about that, look at this" said Rage pointing to a line on the map. What first appeared to be a road of sorts now turned into a very interesting detail. The map was not a surface one, it was the underground map of Jump City, and the road Robin observed was actually an underground water source that extended from the north side of the city all the way down to the south-east side. And the important thing was that Slade's last bases were situated near that water line.

"It's an underground river" Robin whispered to himself "Of course, that's what he's been using as an energy source. Rage, that's great!".

"Yes, but let us not jump to conclusions, it is still only a theory, but since all we can do for now is speculate and come with theories I think this one is more likely to be real".

"Maybe. So let's see, if Slade needs energy then it's most likely for him to use this river as an energy source right?"

"That is my theory and I think I came up with a few possible locations were he might have placed his base of operations now".

"Alright, tell me ..." replied Robin who was eager to hear what his friend came up with.

"Slade built his bases starting from the south-east and continuing up-wards toward the centre and so on. If my guess is correct, his next base should be situated somewhere aroun - "

As Rage talked, the sound of Robin's communicator cut his speech short, startling the two who were in deep concentration. Robin checked to see what the problem was and all of the titans were paying attention now. All of the sudden the tower alarm rang. This wasn't a good sign as the tower alarm wouldn't go off if it wasn't a grade A emergency. Robin went towards the screen and changed it to PC mode logging into the emergency system to see what was happening. A map of the city came up and he could now see what was happening. Apparently there were three simultaneous explosions in the city, one on Palms Boulevard, one at the Cedar Street Subway Station and one at the 14'th police precinct.

"All of these explosions were simultaneous" said Robin as his left hand seemed to be shaking.

Everyone knew what it was, they all knew what was going on, but they didn't want to admit it.

"Coincidence?" asked Cyborg shrugging.

"Coincidence my green butt, it has to be a terrorist attack" replied Beast Boy.

"Since when did he end up becoming a terrorist?" asked Raven. The way she phrased that last question made everyone sweat and their hearts almost skipped a beat. They didn't want to admit it was him, even if it was more then evident.

"Raven, shhh" Starfire whispered as everyone was now paying attention both to her and to the map on the screen.

A moment of silence engulfed the tower as the titans thought about the situation at hand. Their facial expressions betrayed them and the titans realized that they all knew what was going on.

Robin stepped away from the computer and wanted to address his team mates who were now facing him when a sound coming from the computer stopped him in his tracks.

_"Incoming call. Phone number: unknown. Location: Jump City"_

They watched the screen with panic in their hearts. Every time they would get a call from the legal authorities like the police or the mayor they would also get the number of the caller screened. After the computer voice stopped the worst happened, for on the whole screen appeared Slade's insignia.

At the sight of this the titans gasped and gulped, all except for Rage who dropped his cigarette and swiftly jumped to his side hiding behind the couch.

"Rage what in the world are you doing?" asked Robin

"Shhh, act as if I am not here" replied Rage with a quick and violent whisper.

"Greetings titans" an almost macabre voice sounded "I hope I am not interrupting you from your free time now ... am I?". Yes, it was Slade, and he was alive and kicking.

The cynical way Slade asked the question made Robin's bones shiver both with fear and hate at the same time and he didn't even see his face on the monitor yet. He turned around to face him and there he was, standing proud, chest out and his hands behind his back.

_"Remember what Rage said! He's going to try and mess with your mind again!"_ Robin said to himself not knowing how to deal with what was happening.

"Slade, I should've known it was you behind those explosions" said Robin sounding more hateful than afraid or surprised.

"What're you up to now Slade? Why did you blow those places up, huh?" shouted Raven who lost control of her temper.

"Raven, please ... as if I would truly want you to know what I am planning for the future. And then again why tell you when I could enjoy seeing you struggling and trying to find clues that might lead you to my objective before I get there? Huh-huh, in fact I think it will be rather amusing seeing you fail".

"So why terrorism Slade? You think you can prove a point if you blow up things and hurt innocent people?" asked Cyborg with a calm tone trying to cool down the atmosphere in the tower.

"Prove a point?" Slade repeated sounding amused "My dear boy, explosions are only one of my many hobbies. I blow up things for the sheer fun of it. Is it my fault that people get in between me and my hobbies and end up as victims? I believe not".

"You are a bad and sick man Slade" screamed Starfire as if she was offended "You do not care about the lives of others ..."

Robin slowly pulled Starfire back rubbing her shoulders to calm her down. Rage was right, Slade played a good mind-game of "piss your enemies off so as to distract them".

"Enough chit-chat Slade! Cut to the chase, why did you call us?" asked Robin playing it cool and not falling into his rivals trap like the rest of his team.

"I missed you dearly and I wanted to be sure you hadn't forgotten me" he replied in a more than sarcastic manner. "Consider this only the beginning of what will follow. My next attacks will be even greater in intensity. If you wish to catch me you're going to have to keep your eyes pealed. Ta-ta titans, it was nice seeing you again!" he said, after which the screen went black.


	31. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - This ends tonight

Try and walk into the main room of titans tower right at this moment and you would undoubtedly choke ... that's how dense the atmosphere is.

There was no doubt to it; Slade was back with a vengeance and more brutal then ever. He played a new game, a sick and twisted game that even the titans didn't think he would be capable of ... terrorism. He tried to bring them down before, he tried to take over the city, he lied, he used deceit and trickery, but the fact was he never injured innocent people, he only targeted the titans.

Overwhelmed with anger and frustration after Slade's short appearance Robin smashed his fist on the table in front of the couch. He did this not because he couldn't find Slade in time to stop him or because Slade was one step ahead of him (he knew very well Slade was counting on his old obsession and tried to use this to his advantage), he was mad because innocent and hard working citizens were probably hurt or even dead because of his rivals actions.

The titans were all just as infuriated as Robin and now understood why he was so obsessed with Slade in the past. They now realized how important and crucial Robin's research actually was and felt sorry for thinking he was crazy when he spent hours or even days secluded and working.

Starfire went next to Robin to calm him down. At the same moment Rage got up from behind the sofa with the cigarette he previously dropped in his mouth and his eyes turning into a pale shade of red.

"I suppose he's gone now" he said with a deeper voice then before.

Robin turned around surprised of what his friend said and did.

"What the hell were you doing? Why did you jump behind the couch when Slade appeared?" he asked in a curious and somewhat displeased manner.  
_  
_"Slade does not know I'm part of the team" he answered while brushing off come lint off his shoulder "When I saw his insignia on the screen I knew he would appear and he would see me but by hiding behind the couch I avoided visual contact with him and now he will be surprised to see me".

"The element of surprise ... ah, who cares?" said Cyborg infuriated "Slade's attacking innocent people, we gotta stop him before it's too late and you hide when he probably doesn't even care who he's killing?".

"Yeah, so why are we still hanging around here for? Let's go nail that psycho" replied Beast Boy who along with Cyborg and Starfire turned around ready to head into action.

"Not so fast guys" said Robin stopping his team mates in their tracks "That's just what he's expecting us to do".

"Robin's right" continued Raven "He just wants to catch us out in the open and eliminate us. Plus, he knows that we're angry now and that we don't fight well in these conditions. You saw this stuff happen before when Robin was forced to become Slade's apprentice, we didn't work like a team and we were nearly defeated".

"I agree with Raven, even though I do not know anything about that event" said Rage "It is clear that Slade is counting on an immediate attack from us".

"Well duh! That's just what we're supposed to be doing. What else are we going to do? Sit around here and wait?" replied Beast Boy who looked quite frustrated.

"Yes, that's just what we're going to do! It's the last thing he expects from us" intervened Robin.

"So we are going to allow him time to prepare for another attack?" asked Starfire.

"Indeed that is a risk" replied Rage "But in order to stop him we should take it. For all we know he might be monitoring us right now, just waiting for us to come out and mess up".

Cyborg frowned at hearing this and became inpatient. This time he really wanted to catch Slade just as much as Robin, because the places he bombed were places he used to hang around before he became a superhero, and further more, he even knew a couple of people that lived there.

"So what should we do Rage, huh? You want to sit around and do nothing?"

"I did not say that, I just said ..."

"You said we should stay put, and that'll get us no where!".

"At least I do not want to throw myself head first into Slade's trap" Rage responded a bit irritated.

"That's enough you two" screamed Raven "You're doing just what Slade wants you to do, argue. This isn't going to get us anywhere, Robin's right, we have to attack him later"

"But we do not know his current location. How will we be able to find him if we don't know where to search for him?" asked Starfire.

"I'm way ahead of you" said Robin while replaying Slade's video intervention on mute. He played it over and over, froze frames, but found nothing that might lead to his location. The titans were paying close attention to the images. All of the sudden Beast Boy spoke out.

"Dude, freeze that frame"

Robin pushed the stop button on his remote and the image of a window in the background of Slade's base of operations was now clearly visible.

"Blow up the frame with the window, I have a hunch we can find a clue there" said BB being glad that he could help.

Robin did just as Beast Boy instructed him and blew up the picture. The enlarged frame covered the whole screen and an image of the outside of Slade's base was now visible.

"What are we looking for?" asked Raven not understanding why BB insisted upon that particular frame.

"Clues ...any type of clues" answered BB. "There, look at that" he said pointing towards a white spec on the screen "You see that white point, on the trees?"

"Yes, but of what importance is it?" asked Starfire.

"Those are seagulls, it means that Slade's base is somewhere near the ocean" replied BB

"He's right" said Rage who's face started to lighten up "And not only that, look at those trees".

"They're aspen trees" replied Cyborg.

"My thought exactly" said Rage who had forgotten about their little argument earlier "Aspen trees only grow on the north side of the city".

"How can you be sure?" asked Robin

"When I was not a part of the team I sometimes used to sleep on the outskirts of town. I used aspen bark to improvise a mattress if I slept on the ground and I have only found it north side of the city. I am 100 sure his base is somewhere in the north".

"Good, so we know he's near the ocean and probably in the north ... in sectors 16 or 17" said Robin remembering about Slade's last locations and rubbing his chin while thinking. "Rage, you said you might have a clue about where he could be" he said turning to his friend.

"Oh yes! You all have too see this" said Rage unfolding the map he had on the kitchen table. The whole team gathered around the table and paid attention to the marked map.

"Like I told Robin, there is a river that flows under the city and I observed that Slade's last three bases where located near it so I assumed this is what he used as an energy source to create electricity. The peculiar thing is that he built his bases starting from the south east and slowly going up towards the north. Why he did this is a mystery even to me but if he is positioned where we think he is then he could be near this underground river".

The titans slowly started to unravel the mystery of Slade's location but they weren't 100 sure that they were right. They spent almost an hour debating about possible locations and thought up theories, all until Robin took the map of the table and went to the computer with it to the confusion of his friends.

He scanned the underground map of Jump City and placed it over the surface map. He didn't notice anything unusual, but when he highlighted the locations Slade bombed he realized that his rival was still up to his old tricks.

"Looks like Slade really wants to catch us" said Robin being certain that what he found was Slade's location.

When he highlighted the places his enemy bombed they formed a triangle. At first the others didn't think much of it but upon further inspection they noticed something rather disturbing, the triangle formed an arrow which pointed towards the north and crossed the underground river Rage talked about.

A moment of silence fell across the tower as the titans watched the scene and realized that Slade set them up for falling into a trap. As always, he left an encrypted clue to his whereabouts but it was not followed by a cryptic threat. His threat was precise and to the point, thus the titans knew he was dead serious this time about getting rid of them.

"Great, now we know where to find him, when are we going to attack?" asked Cyborg

"Tonight, 8 AM. We'll take him by surprise and use the darkness as cover" replied Robin with a tone in his voice that expressed motivation and determination "Get some rest and don't waist any of your energy, you're going to need it when we're going to take him down ... This ends tonight!".

With that said the titans headed to their rooms. Before leaving the main room, Starfire, who was still outraged by Slade's merciless attacks, spoke out making Cyborg, Beast Boy, Rage and Robin halt.

"I hope we will give that sick man what he deserves, and for everything he has done he deserves no mercy".

The fact that Starfire wanted no mercy for Slade, even though she used to be so forgive full towards anyone, didn't surprise the titans' one bit. What made the boys halt to a stop and worry was her condition.

"Star, wait a second" said Robin making her turn around and ask what was the matter.

"I am afraid you can not come with us tonight to battle Slade" said Rage.

"Why is that? Have I done something wrong?" she asked being surprised of what her friend said.

"No Star, it's just that you are pregnant and you can't fight" said Cyborg brushing her shoulders.

"But I can fight him, I will not be injured and will not endanger my unborn child, I promise".

"I know you can Princess" said Robin smiling seeing his loved ones determination "But if something goes wrong you will both be in danger. I can't take that risk, I love you to much".

After deciding that it would be much better that she stayed home in the safety room Raven stood in when Trigon threatened her, Starfire complied even though she really thought she could fight.

The titans headed back to their rooms to prepare them selves for the fight that lay ahead. From the tone of Robin's voice, which was neither angry nor hateful, but rather determined and somehow peaceful, they realized that it was going to be a fight to the finish.

As they walked to their rooms Rage followed Cyborg and caught up to him.

"Do you have any weapons?" asked Rage.

"Only my modified bionic arms" he replied.

"No, I mean real weapons, fire arms. Guns, rifles, grenades ... those sort of things"

"Why do you ask?" said Cyborg

"You heard Robin, he said it ends tonight and I am not planning on dieing because of fighting with my bare hands, so do you have those sort of things or not?"

Understanding what Rage meant Cyborg took him down to the training room where he hid several weapons. Rage picked a KH91 assault rifle, lots of ammo, two grenades, and left.

Cyborg was in a way intrigued. Rage picked up a rifle, ammo and two hand grenades for fighting Slade yet as every good soldier knew you can't go into battle without a hand-gun and a dagger in case your ammo runs out.

"What is that guy up to?" Cyborg asked himself pondering about his friends' choice of weapons as he watched him leave.


	32. Chapter 15

A/N: Your wish is my command ;) ... I hope you like this chapter just as much as I do; I went over several scripts for this chapie and finally came up with this one as the rest were rather sucky!

So without further explanations I give you ...

**Chapter 15 - The approach  
**

Robin and Starfire were standing in the middle of the safety room that Cyborg built while the rest of the team stood out side. They were both afraid that something would go wrong but when it came to stopping Slade they knew it was a risk they had to take. After all, they were superheroes, this is what they were meant to do.

"You're going to be safe in here" said Robin "If anyone tries to brake in they'll be really disappointed".

"I hope you are right, but still, I have a feeling something bad will happen".

"There are risks we have to take in order to save innocent lives; this is just one of them. We can't back out now".

"But there is also the risk of our child growing up as an orphan" said Starfire tilting her head to a side.

"I know" replied Robin softly while caressing her sweet features and making her gaze into his eyes "And that's why I'm going to be careful".

"Please do so. I love you too much, I will surely not bare losing you" said Starfire while hugging her loved one tightly as though she was afraid she might lose him.

"I love you too, I promise nothing bad will happen to me" replied Robin as he kissed her forehead and returned the hug.

After this small goodbye Robin left the safety room and Cyborg locked the door and regulated the oxygen filters. The team assembled in the main room at 8 o'clock sharp to discus their strategy, and apart from Rage who now carried a rifle on his shoulder, his ammo around his belt and wore his mask that he had sowed after the fight with Slade's robots, nothing would have suggested that they were about to launch a bigger operation than usual. The map of the city was laid on the table and a red X marked the spot of Slade's possible location.

"Good, we know for a fact that Slade's base could be located some where around here" said Beast Boy pointing towards the X on the map "So what are we going to do now?"

"We have to inspect every aspect and quickly couse time isn't our friend in this case" replied Cyborg.

"Fine, first off, what dangers apart from Slade can we meet along the way?" asked Raven.

"Not many except from Slade's traps and robot commandos" answered Robin "In that case, we have to be extra careful for anything suspicious. If you see something that doesn't seem right stop and tell the others".

"Checked. What about if we get separated? Shouldn't we pick a rendezvous point we to group up?" asked Raven.

"I know just the place" replied Cyborg pointing to a place on the map "Here, near these hills, south-west towards the city. Some where around here there's a cave speologists recently discovered. It's safe, it's dark and it's quiet. I say we should rendezvous here if anyone of us gets separated"

"Good, what about transportation and landing point? What's the fastest way to get there?" asked Robin.

"You mean the safest" replied Rage "The fastest way would be by air but Slade's probably going to shoot us down once we are air born".

"Don't worry about that, the T-Ship can out-fly any aircraft and any bullet" said Cyborg confident that the ship he built will over come any obstacle.

"Even so if we take to the air then Slade will have enough time to prepare his defenses" said Raven.

"She is right! My suggestion is to travel under water if that is in any way possible and land near the cost line, over here on the west shore off the north side of town" replied Rage "We will not be detected, Slade will probably think we are still inside the tower preparing the attack or hiding and we will catch him by surprise".

"Then it's the T-Sub we have to take" replied BB "Any thing else?"

"Just one more thing" said Robin "Before we go I have to remind you that this has to be the day we catch Slade. We'll take him down no matter what it takes. Use any means necessary, understand? Stay close, be careful and above all, be ready. Titans Go!"

The titans left the main room and walked at a fast pace to the T-Sub, a couple of levels under the tower. After checking all the systems they headed out towards the landing point Rage suggested. Every thing was going just as they were expecting yet for no apparent reason Robin started to have a feeling something was wrong but thinking this could just be his old self acting out he shrugged off that thought and continued with what he was doing and paying attention to every aspect of their mission.

Upon arriving, the team gathered around Robin to discuss their route.

"We start from the here and head North-Est-Est towards Slade's base. There are no natural obstacles we have to cross so keep a look out for anything unusual and be quiet".

"Right, and what are we going to do when we get there?" asked Raven

"We take him down, no matter what!" replied Robin while punching his fist into his palm, signifying that _"no matter what"_ really meant _"no matter what!"_.

With this said they headed out towards their objective. Cyborg was in front along with Rage who armed his rifle but kept the safety on and Robin was covering their backs along with Raven and BB. The reason they did this is that Rage and Cyborg had fire power to their advantage and they would easily take down any of Slade's commandos if they attacked.

They walked for about a half an hour and weren't far from their objective when Robin noticed something unusual. It was Rage, he seemed to be mumbling something, probably in his native language, after which he did the cross sign and placed his cross necklace inside his shirt. He didn't understand what this completely meant but one thing was for sure, Rage felt that something might go wrong and he wanted to make sure divine intervention will help him.

After another five minutes they slowed their pace and started to walk silently beginning every step with their heels so as to silence their foot steps. This went on for another 4 to 6 minutes when all of the sudden Cyborg stopped.

"I think I see something moving in front of us" he whispered to the rest.

The others grouped and also noticed motion at about 100 yards in front, but because of the darkness that enveloped the forest they couldn't make out what it was.

"Stay right here, I am going to scout the place out and see if there is any danger. If you hear me shouting then that means I am in trouble" said Rage leaving afterwards.

Time passed and after a short while Rage retuned covered in leaves and dirt, a sign that he had to crawl at ground level.

"Well, did you find anything?" asked Robin.

"Yes, right in front of us there are about ten masked men that bared Slade's insignia on their uniform. What is your call?"

"I say take'em down and move forward" replied Cyborg.

"No, it's too risky; we want to catch Slade off guard not make our presence noticed. We're going to avoid them by taking another path. This way!" said Robin moving slowly through the bushes and trees as silent as possible.

They walked a good distance and thought that they passed Slade's guards, but just when they thought they were on the right track they hear the leaves moving and someone walking towards them or around them.

"Stop! Don't a make any sounds and be on the look out" whispered Robin who held three disks between his right hand fingers.

The tension was rising as they waited too see what was going to happen. True, it could have just been a woodland creature that minded its own business and just searched for food but with Slade's commandos near by they couldn't afford to take any risks so they kept their battle stance for a good couple of minutes. For a while they didn't hear any more movement and most of them thought it would have been a good idea to move on.

"I guess it was a false alarm" said Robin still whispering.

"Yeah, come on let's move out" replied Cyborg.

Cyborg started walking quietly and careful but after a few steps he hears a clicking sound of sorts and a shout:

"Cyborg hit the deck!"

He reacted immediately and dropped to the ground after which he heard four gun shots. He lifted his head up too see what was going on and saw Rage pointing his rifle in the direction he was standing. For an odd reason the smoke that came out of Rage's rifle barrel gave him chills down his spine. Trying to shoot him was out of the question as he recognized his voice but when he turned too see what he shot he was relieved but at the same time scared to see one of Slade's robot commandos down on the ground with bullet holes between its eyes and its weapon near.

When Cyborg started walking Rage saw a human like figure pointing what appeared to be a weapon towards him so he didn't hesitate. He took the safety off, told Cyborg to drop, aimed and fired.

The good thing was that Cyborg was unharmed ... the bad thing though was that Rage didn't have a silencer and the shots was really loud and more than probably attracted Slade's robots attention.

"Just great!" said Raven in a sarcastic tone after inspecting the robot.

"We have to get out of here" replied Robin who started walking, trying to move his friends out of the area "Next thing we know Slade's commandos will be breathing down our neck any ..."

A series of noises that came through the brush made Robin cut his explanation short. The sounds came from every side: behind them, in front of them, to their left, to their right ... you name it. The titans knew what this meant and took battle positions ready to strike when the attack was sounded, and in only a matter of seconds they were surrounded by Slade's robots.

"... second?" said Raven completing the sentence Robin started earlier.

They were clearly out numbered. Their attempt to catch Slade off guard had gone to waist but they decided to fight on and continue. True, they lost the element of surprise but it didn't mean they lost the battle; after all, things like these happened before.

"We are out numbered" said Rage

"They're armed" Raven noted.

"They're everywhere!" exclaimed Beast Boy who panicked.

"Are we able to take them all out?" asked Cyborg addressing this question to Robin.

"We'll try, but if doesn't work get ready to fall back to the rendezvous point" replied Robin "Titans Go!"

At the sound of this the titans charged in different directions and started fighting Slade's commandos. The robots realized what happened and started firing but because of the darkness they reacted too late. Robin launched his disks and took out a good number of robots after which he took out his Bo staff and started taking them down. Beast Boy morphed into a sparrow and when he got near his opponents changed into a bear and also started to fight them. Raven used her telekinetic powers and picked up two large boulders which she used to smash the attackers with. Cyborg jumped in fist first into battle and started throwing punches left and right throwing his enemies straight into the trees that surrounded them. Rage charged head first into the crowd of robot commandos and started slamming them to the ground and fight using street and box techniques rather than martial arts tactics and occasionally hitting his adversaries with the back end of his weapon.

They individually fought well and took their enemies down with no problems at all but the robots kept flooding in and their growing numbers threatened to overwhelm the titans. They now knew they couldn't take all of them out, it was almost impossible, so they went to plan B.

"They're too many, fall back, head to the rendezvous point" ordered Robin as he fought off three robots that tried to hit him with flying projectiles.

The titans did as they were ordered but had difficulties as they tried to make it out due to the great number of their opponents. As they all regrouped and fled towards the cave Cyborg told them about they noticed they were being followed so Robin used a smoke screen bomb to throw them off track and told the others to split up and find their way to the cave where they would devise another plan of attack. Robin did this to make sure that he threw them off in case the smoke screen tactic didn't work ... little did he know that he would regret this decision.

He ran as fast as he could and didn't even look back. He was sure his friends made it to the rendezvous point in the cave way before him as he took a longer path but to his surprise he was the first one that got there.

Thinking they were just running late he tried to contact them and called each one on their communicators. When he tried to contact Beast Boy and Raven he got no response. When he called Rage he only got static but he also thought he heard what sounded like grunts and shouts. This made him wonder if his decision to split up was a good idea. Thinking his team mates were in danger he didn't hesitate any longer. He called Cyborg and after a few seconds he could finally talk to one of his friends.

"Cyborg, I can't contact the others, where are you?" he asked.

Through the communicator Robin could hear familiar sounds. At first he thought Cyborg was running through the bushes trying to get there faster but after a short while he realized he was wrong due to shouts of pain. Cyborg wasn't running through bushes or anything like that, he was fighting.

"Robin get out of there, fast!" Cyborg yelled through the communicator "It's Slade, he's coming to ge-"

Cyborg was cut off short and their connection was terminated. Robin didn't have too be a genius to figure out what Cyborg was about to say. _"It's Slade; he's coming to get you!"_. Realizing this he finally understood what happened to his friends and what was going to happen to him if he remained in that cave. Sensing his friends were in danger he rushed to help them. He got Cyborg's coordinates from the place he last stood thanks to the inbuilt GPS system in the communicator and decided to find and help him first as he was the only one who answered and more than probably still had chances not to be defeated.

He ran through the dark forest, branches wiped his face, stones made him trip but he wasn't going to stop until he found his friend. While running he noticed something unusual that made him stop in his tracks. For the last half mile he had been running he suddenly got the eerie feeling that he was followed and saw a shadow through the trees that ran along side him. He paused for a second and yelled out for Cyborg so as not to make the one that followed him think he observed his presence. After a couple of seconds he started running again and saw that his follower kept up with him. Up ahead he noticed a small moon lighted opening and decided to strike. He got his bo-staff out of his utility belt, prepared an exploding disk and cautiously calculated his move.

When he got to the edge of the lighted opening he threw the disk precisely where his stalker was positioned and hit him. He then extended his retracted bo-staff and launched himself towards his follower. The stalker observed the attack and jumped to a side thus Robin only hit the ground. After hitting the forest floor Robin somersaulted and tried to kick his adversary but again missed. The unknown stalker made his way to the edge of he lighted opening and stood up right where Robin could see him.

"Come out Slade, I know it's you" Robin called out.

Out of the dark forest came into the light of the moon a tall figure covered in metal and wearing a half black, half orange mask. The insignia on his chest proved Robin right, it was no one other than Slade.

"Very well Robin, I see you've actually improved your sense of observation during our time apart" said Slade who jumped directly at Robin.

He jumped foot first trying to kick him but Robin avoided this and Slade only kicked a tree peeling of some of its bark.

"... and also your time of reaction"

Slade didn't lose anytime with small talk and again attempted to take Robin down. This time, the battle was mano a mano. Slade punched and kicked Robin but his blows were repealed. Robin couldn't use his staff in close hand to hand combat yet he still defended himself using it. As Slade tried a spin kick Robin balanced on his bo-staff and kicked Slade in the stomach sending him a good couple of feet away.

"...and also your defense and fighting skills"

Slade used the light to his advantage and jumped in between Robin and the moon trying to blind his opponent, but Robin anticipated his move and threw a freeze disk hitting Slade in the torso. When he landed, Robin used his staff and hit him on the side of his head, in the chin and in the back sending Slade to the ground.

"... and also the use of weaponry" finished Slade with a tone that expressed severe pain.

Calculating the intensity of his last blow Robin thought that he inflicted much damage to his rivals back and probably dislocating his spinal cord.

"All right Slade the game is over, now tell me where my friends are!"

Just then, Robin felt a sting in the back of his neck. It was sudden and for a fraction of a second painful as hell. He reached for the back of his neck and pulled out a small dart. He realized what this meant but just when he tried to turn around he felt his legs were limping.

"But even though you have improved most of your skills you are still gullible and way to confident for your own good" said a voice that came from behind him.

Robin realized what was going on. He didn't actually fight Slade; instead he fought a replica of Slade, another one of his robots. He turned around and he saw behind him the real Slade approaching him and holding a dart gun in his hand.

"Slade, you coward ... I should have known it wasn't you" said Robin feeling dizzy and sensing he was going to pass out.

"You've fallen into my trap and didn't even remember the oldest trick in the book ... Looks like I was only teasing you when I said you've been improving your sense of observation" said Slade devilishly chuckling.

Robin fell to the ground and lost any feeling in his body, arms and legs. He couldn't believe it ... After all the dangers he had faced, after all the tight spot situations he had encountered and after all the villains he had fought, he was brought down by a tranquilizing dart.

"Man how pathetic!" Robin said to himself "What are you going to do to me?" he asked felling as though he was loosing his conscience.

Slade picked him up by the collar of his outfit and whispered in his ear his true intention with a sadistic pleasure: "I'm going to break you ... both on the outside and on the inside"

Even though I don't usually reply to your reviews I want you guys to know that I truly and honestly appreciate the fact that you read and like my fic and that I'll give it my best make it a good one. Btw, I'm posting every chapter at about 1 A.M. (GMT +2) every 4 to 5 days ... it's kind of exhausting but I do it for you guys!

Thanks again and stay tuned! The best part is only starting!


	33. Chapter 16 Part 1

**Chapter 16 – The test of weakness**

**Part 1 - Captivity**

**Flashback**

Cyborg_: "He's not coming back you know. That's all that's left of him, nothing but dust."_

Starfire:"_You said you would never hurt me, yet, you have just did that! You were the one I trusted the most, the one I loved, the one I have offered my body to, and now this is how you act? Telling me to go away? Robin, look at me and say something."_

Raven:_ "Robin, your heart, you're in danger! You have to trust me, Slade isn't here, he's not in the tower."_

Beast Boy_: "When you were working for Slade did we give up on you?"_

Rage_: "My point is that he knows you are at some level obsessed with him and he uses this to his advantage. He doesn't attack yet because he knows that you will look for him if he acts out, he knows that you will not stop searching for him, and most of all he knows you will blame yourself and eventually have a break down."_

Robin's parents:_ "We are proud of everything that you have done Richie, and all the people that you have helped are proud and glad that someone like you exists."_

Slade:_ "You can't even touch me … How can you save a city Robin if you can't save yourself? … Robin, if you stopped me, then why am I still here?"_

Starfire:_ "I love you too much, I will surely not bare loosing you"_

Slade:"_No Robin, I wont stop. Not now, not ever. I am the thing that keeps you up at night, the evil that haunts every dark corner of your mind. I will never rest …"_

Robin's parents:_ "Go the right way Richard, go the right way! Remember these words and they will help you"_

**End of flashback**

He opened his now heavy eye lids and felt the numbness in his body going away. He thought he died but when he tried to move into the fogy darkness in front of him he realized both his hands and feet were cuffed.

He wasn't dead, he was only captive.

At first he was glad he didn't die but the situation at hand didn't satisfy him either. He looked around and his vision started to clear up. He was cuffed to a metal wall with no way of escaping and next to him he saw Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg who were also held captive but with other shackles and in a semi circle.

"Hey, Robin woke up" said Cyborg with a tone in his voice that expressed relief.

"Where are we?" Robin asked mumbling "How did we get here? What happened?"

"Slade and his robots happened" replied Beast Boy

"After we split up he took us out one by one, tranquilized us and now we ended up here" said Raven completing what BB started.

"Slade!" whispered Robin to himself remembering what went on before and also his nemesis threat.

"So what happened to you?" asked Cyborg.

"Same thing. After I got your message I hurried out of the cave to help you but Slade followed me. We fought but he shot me in the neck with a tranquilizing dart and now here I am. Now come on, ugh, let's get out of here!" replied Robin grunting and desperately trying to free himself.

"It's no use man" said Cyborg "Slade's got us pinned to the wall for good; we're not getting out that easy".

After several attempts to brake free Robin finally stopped struggling. Cyborg was right; Slade had them shackled up well. For what exactly he didn't know but he was more than sure that it had something to do with torturing them.

He looked around the place and except for the lighted semi circle where he and his friends laid captive everything was dark. Even so he noticed something rather peculiar; he saw another pair of shackles on a wall. He knew Slade had planed this for along time and probably expected to also catch Starfire. This thought remembered him both of his loved one but also of Rage.

"Rage, what happened to him? You guys have any ideas?" asked Robin whispering

"We haven't heard from him since we split up, we have no idea where he is or if he's still alive" Raven replied quietly.

A moment of silence fell and after a few minutes of assessing the situation Robin finally spoke: "I wonder what Slade's got cooked up for us now that he has us captive"

"What ever it is I bet it's going to be something nasty" replied BB.

"Seeing how we're his prisoners we're practically at his mercy and I'm sure he's gonna try and –"

"Break you from the inside out?" interrupted a voice coming from the shadows.

In a blink of a second the surroundings lighted up and Slade's base was now clearly visible. When the lights were turned on they temporarily blinded the titans but after a shot while they looked up in front of them and saw Slade sitting on a throne-like chair polishing a gun.

His actual base wasn't very different from the ones that he formerly had. Computers, engines, sky walks, maps, weapons, an assembly line probably for his robot commandos, it was the same deal only this time Robin noticed in the far right of the base a flowing source of water. It was the underground river Rage mentioned. It seemed his hunch was indeed right.

Rage! For some reason Robin and the others were sure that he made it out safely and was on his way to help them. They knew that Slade could have seen him but they still hoped that their friend wasn't noticed. It seemed that Rage was now their only hope, but with out any word from him he could as well be lying dead or injured somewhere on the forest floor.

Slade stoop up from his chair taking a dictator type posture and started walking towards the titans. Chest out, head raised up high, hands behind his back, a confident way of walking, a cold stare, all of these characteristics made the titans realize how sadistic Slade actually was. Not only did he have them tied up, defenseless, incapable of retaliation and most of all at their mercy but he truly enjoyed this very much. Just like a cat that cornered a mouse.

"Torture, pain, wiping, disemboweling … what inhuman treatments for such glorious heroes as yourselves. You fought against me for so long, almost caught me several times, almost defeated me one time, continued searching for me after you've lost my trail, and now after so many efforts, after countless sleepless nights, after you found my location and thought you could finally take me down you yet again fail miserably. Congratulations!" said Slade while walking around each one of the titans with his gun behind his back, inspecting and constantly mocking them.

"You heartless bastard" yelled Cyborg infuriated "If it wasn't for these cuffs I'd break you neck and twist your -"

"Ah ah ah" Slade interrupted raising his index finger "Before accusing me of being a bastard and threatening me, think about what I said and try to figure out if I am right or wrong"

After hearing this the titans did actually think about it and Slade was indeed right. What he said was true; the ones that were responsible for their situation were in fact them. They were the ones that got themselves into this mess. On each of the titans spine roused a chill. They never thought that they would agree with Slade on such matters.

"My point exactly …" concluded Slade tilting his head downwards and squinting his eyes while looking at the titans.

"So you're right, big deal. And now what?" asked Robin.

"Now comes the –" Slade started but was interrupted by the sound of a sliding door.

The titans also heard the door opening and looked in the direction that the noise came from. Because of the way Slades base was illuminated they saw two silhouettes approaching that seemed to be dragging something. A bag? A bomb? The titans didn't know for sure what those approaching figures were dragging but they had the feeling it had something to do with Slade's plan.

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I know, kind of short but eh, that was the idea. The next chapters will be interesting in my opinion so stay tuned!

Btw, this sunday I came down with a bad cold and tomorrow I'm going to get some X-Rays to see if I'm not coming down with pneumonia. Let's just hope I'm going to be healthy.


	34. Chapter 16 Part 2

A/N: I would have updated this story yesterday but my bro had to chat with somebody and at about 1 A.M. (when I usually update) I fell asleep. No, I didn't get the chance to catch Santa in the act but he was very kind none the less ... So here's the new chapter, and seeing how it's the holidays I wish you all a Merry Christmas and many joys in life :)

**Part 2 – Mind games**

Coming out of the light everything became clear. What the titans saw caught them off guard as it was something they didn't expect to happen. It was two of Slade's robots and they were dragging along side them a body. It was Rage and he was out conscience.

The titans gasped and couldn't believe it. One of the robots went next to Slade and whispered something in his ear. If Slade didn't have his mask on right now his smile would more than probably contaminate you.

"Strap him up with the others" Slade ordered.

The robots did as they were told and shackled Rage with the remaining pair of cuffs on one of the metal walls. As the other titans watched him in shock Rage started to come back to his senses and mumbled something in his language. Well awake now and noticing that he was captive Rage started cursing and tried to break free but just as the other titans it was to no avail.

After hearing Rage talk in a foreign language Slade turned his attention to him as if he was interested in something.

"Ah yes, the new one. I've been observing him for quite a while now… Seriously Robin, where did you pick this one up?" chuckled Slade.

He knew Slade was only playing mind games and didn't give into what as an attempt to annoy him. He remembered what Rage told him and decided to play it cool and confident.

"What's it to you? You caught him and us, what more do you want?" He would lately realize that he would regret this question.

"Always impertinent, typical …" replied Slade mockingly "Well if you really want to know, I also like finding out who my enemies are".

He turned around at Rage and started studying him. He glanced at him for a while and rubbed his chin in the process. Rage observed this and kept looking Slade dead in the eyes. His shirt and pants were ripped; his boots were muddy, his weapons and ammo laid at his feet. He was covered in dirt and from place to place bloody wounds were visible on his hands. The only thing that remained intact was his mask.

"Strange, very strange indeed" Slade pondered "You sound oddly familiar and remind me of someone I knew. And that language, it sounded just like-"

"Nice to see you too again Wilson" said Rage cutting Slade's monologue short.

At hearing this Slade took one step backwards as if lighting hit in front of him. He looked like he had seen a ghost but instead of running away or asking stupid questions he clenched his fist and firmly went next to Rage looking pissed off.

"What did you just say?" he asked in a calm manner.

"Nice to see you too Slade Wilson" replied Rage who more than probably received a few punches to the jaw.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" asked Slade infuriated and taking Rage's mask off.

The others tried to protest against taking his mask off but it was no use, Slade now saw Rage and for a strange reason seemed to be disturbed.

"You! I thought I got rid of you" Slade asked sounding more like being mad and dissatisfied.

"Apparently not; next time you shoot someone aim for his head and not for his torso, you cretin" replied Rage sarcastically.

The others didn't understand what the two were talking about but Robin remembered something that he decided to forget about at first. The night Beast Boy and Raven came in holding hands the boys talked about how the night went on and Rage said something about a mission after which he ran off to his room before Robin or anybody else could find out what he meant by that. After listening to his door Starfire told the titans what she had heard and one thing popped up that attracted Robins attention. That thing was the word Wilson.

After practically reading hundreds upon hundreds of files, Robin remembered that he once read a list of Slade's possible names. Slade Wilson was one of them.

Things were starting to make sense. Until now one thing was sure, Rage knew about Slade even before he joined the titans and Slade tried to kill him before.

After hearing Rage's defamatory and provocative response Slade started laughing franticly.

"This is a truly unexpected surprise, not only did I catch the titans but I also have you captive. And to think that I believed you were dead … and I didn't even move one finger to catch you. You looked for me all this time and achieved nothing, ha ha, what a complete waist of time" said Slade who started sounding more and more like a joker rather then a sadist.

Rage listened to Slade's constant and never ending taunts but after a while he felt he couldn't take it anymore. His eyes started turning red, he struggled to break free again and last but not least he spit at his soon to be 'executioner'.

Slade noticed this and didn't like it one bit. Not only did he interrupt him but Rage didn't show any signs of obedience towards him.

"I see that some of Robins defiant character has passed on to you" started Slade "How about I put this gun to your head, pull the trigger and splatter your brains all over the wall behind you? Now wouldn't that be a rather picturesque sight?"

Rage didn't listen to Slade's taunts even though he had a gun pointed between his eyes. Defiant until the end he spat at Slade again, this time on the right side of his face where he lost an eye. Because of this Slade got mad as hell and hit Rage over the head with his fist. The others tried to say something but were still amazed by their discussion.

"Be thankful that I'm not shooting you for your disobedience" said Slade while pulling on Rage's shirt.

"Be thankful for not shooting me?" Rage asked with a tone that expressed curiosity "You already shot me once and I am still here as you can clearly see. I bet even Adeline, was a better shooter than you"

"What did you just say?" Slade asked, amazed that Rage, an old enemy, knew about his past.

"You have heard me, I bet even Adeline was a better marksman than you are or will ever be" he replied with a toothy smirk on his face.

Slade pulled Rage harder by his shirt and was now only inches away from his face. "How do you know that? Answer me fast or I'll make sure you'll die in the worst anguish possible"

Rage continued smirking and looked at his adversary with a sort of sadistic pleasure in his eyes. "I have my ways of finding out all the information that I need about my enemies. I would have expected you to notice that when I called you Wilson, but I guess lacking an eye also affects ones memory doesn't it?".

"Shut up! You don't know anything" yelled Slade. His shout was one of madness, not a desperate one.

"What are they doing?" Raven asked whispering, noticing what went on in front of her and hearing Rage and Slade's conversation

"Shhh, be quiet and keep your ears pealed" instructed Robin who was fully aware of what was going on before his eyes and wanted to find out more.

"I know most of the things there is to know about you Slade Wilson" continued Rage triumphantly "The army, the test, the powers, they all made you what you are today, but you owe everything to Adeline don't you? Your life, your family, your children, even that missing eye of yours".

"This is impossible! There's no way that you could know that!" exclaimed Slade who was astonished to find out that his past wasn't so secret after all.

"But I do. I even know how you lost your eye" said Rage who obviously knew that Slade's handicap was very important for his moral "You couldn't stop the Jackal's men from muting your son forever, gambled Joseph's life, kept things from your wife and always remained quiet about everything. All of these things finally got to Adeline, and who could blame her for what she did? She saw the opportunity and tried to take you out. She knew what kind of threat you represent and wanted to help the world. She almost killed you and you can be sure that she also stopped loving you. So before telling me to be thankful for not shooting me remember that Adeline crippled you while you couldn't even kill me, you Cyclopes!"

Slade couldn't take it anymore. He used this tactic on the titans a month and a half before and almost succeeded in splitting them apart but never would have he expected this happening to him. He remembered all the things that have happened to him and realized that Rage was right. He wasn't perfect as he imagined, he wasn't flawless like he wanted to be, he did mistakes in the past that he could never repair and lost what was most dear to him.

Slade snapped and with a great cry of anger and frustration started pounding Rage. Punches, kicks, elbows, knees, head-butts, all of these were directed towards Rage. Even if he was still chained Rage didn't shout because of pain, instead he grunted with every blow he received. He did this not out of pride but because he realized that this was only the beginning of Slade's fury and didn't want to show any signs of weakness.

The others paid close attention to the two enemies as they talked and now seeing Slade beating Rage into submission while he is still captive angered them like never before.

"Slade you coward!" yelled Cyborg "Leave him alone. It's easy to hit someone while he's shackled isn't it? Why don't you fight fair?" he asked in an insulting yet confident manner.

Slade stopped hitting Rage leaving him with a swollen up face and more than probably with a dozen couple of bruises to his body and turned towards Cyborg.

"Coward? You're calling me a coward?" he furiously asked stressing the word "You".

"Did I stutter?" Cyborg replied.

"No, only it's rather strange that you're calling me a coward. After all, my actions, in comparison to yours, are in fact very motivated".

"Have you been drinking motor oil?" Cyborg asked "What are you talking about? You have nothing on me".

"Maybe I don't, or maybe I do, but one thing is for certain, I didn't leave my parents in their time of need".

"Say what?" asked Cyborg.

"Don't act like you don't remember the incident. It was that glorious and faithful day. Your father accidentally let loose that creature that killed your mother and almost killed you. He barely sent it back and rebuilt you thus saving your life, and how did you repay him? With ignorance? By refusing to talk to him? By blaming him for your mother's death? Not that it's any of my business but do you truly believe that your actions were in any way motivated? No they were not, mine on the other hand are! When I fall down I get back up on my feet and go forward with determination, when you fall you get discouraged. I see my self as a normal man even though I'm still a cripple while you consider yourself a freak of nature. I face my fears and I'm proud of what I am; you on the other hand are ashamed of what you are and would rather hide your true nature then admit you're different. Don't talk to me about courage and don't call me a coward, little man. The only coward here … is you!"

After hearing this Cyborg activated his sonic canon and tried to shoot Slade who again assumed his dictatorial type posture but the only thing he could hit was the floor in front of him while shouting out frustrated all to Slade's pleasure.

"How did you find these things out? HOW DO YOU KNOW?" Cyborg screamed

"I like to keep a close eye on my foes … And I was also an ally of Trigon, he told me most of all your secrets".

"Cyborg, don't listen to him. You know it's not true, you know he's just trying to get to you" said Raven who saw what Slade was actually up to.

"Not true? Now why would I lie when the truth hurts more then thousands of lies put together?" said Slade now addressing Raven instead.

"Even if what you said is true Cyborg is still a fighter. Nothing you say can affect him".

"True, Cyborg is a fighter, but he realized that what I said was true and still lost his temper. He can take lots of pain without even blinking but apparently the truth is too much for him to bear. He's the symbol of strength of your team if you may … It's a pity that I can't say the same thing about you though, Raven, or should I say … Rachel" responded Slade.

"You'd wish" said Beast Boy who defended his girlfriend "Rachel is stronger than she looks and she's not afraid of the truth!"

"Yeah, if you want to take me down you'll have to come up with a pretty good lie" said Raven.

"I'm a man an honor Raven, I'm sure you already know that, and frankly lies are not a symbol of honor. I never resort to lies unless I have no other alternative, and in your case lies aren't the answer to bringing you down. Truth is a better option".

"My friends know everything there is to know about me. Give me your best shot, nothing you say can break me or make my friends change their opinion about me".

"I don't intend to break you and I don't intend to lie just like you've been doing to Beast Boy"

"What do you mean by that?" Raven asked suspiciously.

"You know very well what I mean. For months now you two have been madly in love and came to be very close. On one hand, a young fellow who thought he'll never find love again, on the other hand a girl that never felt the feeling of love. Two restless souls that have finally found their match made in heaven. I Believe this is the stuff best selling love novels are made of …"

"Is there a point to this eulogy of yours or are you just a sucker for good love stories?" asked Beast Boy arching an eye brow.

"To be honest for me there isn't, but for you my dear boy there is" replied Slade while watching BB dead in the eyes "How long have you been together now? Five months starting a week from tomorrow?"

"Yeah yeah, five beautiful months, full of love and passion bla bla bla etc etc, now what the hell is your point?" replied a frustrated Beast Boy.

"My point is that you should revise that last sentence of yours and next time you trust a girl be sure that she's telling the truth"

"Great, another cryptic type riddle" mumbled Beast Boy in between his teeth.

"You don't believe me do you?" continued Slade "Then let me put it this way. You agree that love is based on the common understanding between the two parties that are involved in this process, you agree that a relationship is based on sincerity and truth, you agree that both partners should be faithful, loyal and true to one another. You agree that love and truth is one and the same thing in your relationship. If this is the case then tell me, why is it that every time you think of a son or a daughter Raven always avoids the subject?"

"Well duh! We're too young to have children, stupid!" replied Beast Boy considering that Slade's efforts were futile.

He looked at Raven and smiled being confident that he made Slade shut up with his otherwise logical answer, but something was wrong. Raven's face turned even paler than ever, sweat drops were visibly forming on her temples and forehead and her eyes expressed fear.

She looked as though she was going to die. Her jaw fell and she watched Slade moving only with her eyes according to his every step. BB didn't understand why she acted like this but knew that Slade had a trick up his sleeve.

"How do you know?" asked Raven addressing Slade hesitantly and sheepishly.

"I worked for Trigon, need I say more?" he replied in a devilish manner.

"Say what more?" asked Beast Boy who's was now aroused.

Slade then went over next to him and placed his elbow on BB's shoulder as if they were friends and started: "You need to know something very important about women Beast Boy …"

"What? That they are excellent shots?" interrupted Rage who was still bleeding from his eye lids.

"Careful, you're on very thin ice" Slade replied calmly and continued explaining to BB what he already started "You see, women often tend to lie a lot, they say that they love you when actually they only say that so you won't feel like a looser, they always look like precious kittens when they're along side you but when you turn around they're like jackals, ready to bite you, ready to stab in the back, and last but not least, they are masters at deceiving any male and experts when it comes to avoiding great problems. Raven is such a women Beast Boy! And do you know why I say this? Because she keeps things from you. You always try to talk about a child and what a good idea it would be to have an offspring but what does she do when you bring up the subject? She just shrugs it off and lies by using any pathetic yet effective excuse just to get out of that conversation. Do you know why she does that? Because she can't have your child, that's why!"

"What?" asked Beast Boy who was amazed to hear this. What Slade said about Raven avoiding that particular subject was in fact true. He even started asking himself if what Slade said was actually the truth. If it was then one truth did in fact hurt much more than a thousand lies.

"Don't listen to him Gar" said Raven "He's a liar".

"The truth hurts doesn't it Raven?" Slade asked in a rather demonic way "You know that if you hold Garfield's seed you could never have a normal child who could live a simple and normal life, all of this because you are a spawn of human and demon, a half breed. The root of your love would be part demon, a reminiscence of Trigon, a true grandfather's gift for his nephew if you may, and you know you that can't risk bringing him back now, could you?".

"But its different now, you don't understand … You-You're lying! You have no idea what you're talking about" vehemently protested Raven who tried to explain the situation at hand.

On Ravens right BB watched her as if a dagger ripped through his heart. He wasn't necessarily sad about the fact that they couldn't have a child but his trust had been broken and he again felt betrayed.

"Rachel, why didn't you tell me this before?" asked Beast Boy with a different voice.

"It's not how seems Garfield, Slade didn't … "

"I trusted you; I thought we shared every thing. Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I did but I wasn't ready to tell you that …-" continued Raven who was cut off by Slade.

"… You can't have his child. See Garfield? I didn't lie about anything; the truth speaks for its self. Even now she won't admit it and tries to deceive you. I rest my case, you be the judge!"

Good news, I'm not spitting blood anymore ... Just proves to show what half a liter of plum brandy and a couple of herbal teas can do :)


	35. Chapter 16 Part 3

A/N: Thanks for the Christmas greetings ya'll, I hope you had a great Christmas and hopefully a happy New Year! So here's the new chapter, I had some difficulties writing it but I think it came out quite nicely if I do say so myself ... Enjoy.

**Part 3 – The stand off**

Slade's mind tricks worked like a charm managing to demoralize three of the captive titans. He came back at Rage and Cyborg for insulting him, he made Beast Boy and Raven's relationship take a turn for the worst and he still had Robin to take care of. The strange thing was that he knew facts about the titans that even some of them didn't know about each other. The truth was that during their time apart Slade really did his homework, that was the thing that scared them the most, but none the less they had to resist the pressure, it was the only thing they could do.

Slade turned around and left Beast Boy and Raven watching each other with regret on one hand and distrust on the other. These new facts that Slade pointed out shocked BB who thought that his relationship with Raven was going along well and that they were both perfect for one another. He didn't know what to believe but what Slade said did make sense at some level. He wouldn't have ever imagined to be listening or trusting Slade, but seeing the situation at hand he had to recognize the obvious … Raven hadn't been true to him and kept things from his knowledge, things that were rather important to him. After all they've been through, after all the sacrifices he made, after all the faith he had in her, five minutes of Slade talking and yakking around made him want to have never loved Raven in the first placed.

Raven couldn't even speak; she wanted to talk to her loved one and tell him that he had nothing to worry about but couldn't say anything. She was both confused and shocked of what Slade said and couldn't believe that this was happening to them. She just stood there watching Beast Boy gasping and at the same time observing Slade.

The others didn't understand what was going on and just watched Slade enjoying the fruits of his doing. He turned around with his hands crossed and his head tilted backwards and started chuckling, a chuckle that soon degenerated into a frantic frenzy of psychotic laughter. The sight was not a pretty one as far as the titans were concerned; in fact it was highly disturbing and made them ask their selves what tricks he still had up his sleeve.

With an almost sadistic pleasure Slade turned around and triumphantly walked towards Robin. The sheer sight of him in this position would have made many loose their cool, but not Robin. He remembered his training and also what Rage told him about Slade and realized where his enemy was going with this; he wanted to mentally harass him and break him from the inside out.

"So what now Slade? Are you going remind me something from my secret and dark past that will make me crack?" Robin asked sarcastically as his nemesis approached him.

"Not quite Robin" Slade answered while circling him like a vulture "I am not as stupid as you may think I am. I know you've prepared for this; I know that you came to accept your mistakes and that you're now at peace with your disturbing past. Such tactics won't work on you, and to be honest I was actually counting that you wouldn't be ready for such a treatment. Indeed I am disappointed, but at the same time I have to congratulate you on such a great achievement".

"So I guess physical torture is the only way you can make me suffer, right?" said Robin. Of course Robin was only sarcastic and wanted to prove to Slade that he was ready for anything he got but if he would have paid more attention to what went on he would have realized that Beast Boy was also sarcastic and things turned out bad.

"Wrong" replied Slade "Even thought beating you to death would definitely tickle my fancy it would still not be enough to quench my thirst of revenge. And further more, why should I take you out on the spot when I can torture your soul and make you wish that you were never born?"

This last sentence made Robin wonder what Slade had prepared for him. He couldn't mentally harass him and he said that he didn't plan on killing him, preferring to "torture his soul" rather than take him out. At first it didn't make any sense but from his experience Robin knew that Slade wasn't joking.

"And how are you going to do that?" he asked trying to hide the fact that at some level he actually did panic.

"I'm glad you asked that Robin" Slade replied and took out a remote control from the back of his pocket.

He held up the remote near his right ear and pushed one of the buttons in a nonchalant manner. All of the sudden the floor in front of the titans slid open and from underneath came up a glass chamber. Also, because of the show Slade tried to put on, the lights got brighter and the titans couldn't see what was in the glass chamber in front of them. It wasn't until another ten seconds that the titans finally saw what Slade had installed for Robin.

The lights dimmed, Slade moved aside and they could now see what was in the glass chamber. The sight utterly shocked everyone and Robin's heart almost stopped beating. Starfire was inside the chamber, apparently dead or unconscious but none the less helpless.

It was a plan brilliantly thought up by Slade. After seeing this Robin realized that nothing could have ever prepared him for such a thing and that his archenemy was indeed clever, criminally clever.

"How did you get pass my security system? How did you break into the safety room?" Cyborg asked being just as shocked as Robin. It was actually a rather stupid question seeing how Starfire should have been the center of his concern (not that she wasn't), but in times of crisis people usually do or ask stupid things.

"Never underestimate my knowledge of espionage and technical skills" he replied "I've been listening to you ever since we had that encounter a few months ago. I've heard what you've been talking about and planning all along; and Anton was indeed right, for all you knew I actually was keeping a close eye on all of you. When you left the tower all I needed to do was break in and gas the safety room your little friend was enclosed in, and to be honest you still have a lot to learn about security systems Cyborg".

"Slade you son of a bitch!" Robin yelled out while struggling trying to break free again "If you did anything to Starfire I swear to God I'll … "

"Starfire isn't dead Robin, relax, knock out gas can't kill you" Slade replied "She's only asleep, that's the way I wanted her to be"

"What for?" Robin asked furiously.

Slade turned around towards Starfire and took out a gun from a side holster on his belt.

"Let's see now, if I correctly recall you've loved Starfire for a long time. In fact, you've loved her ever since you two first met. For two and a half years you couldn't tell her how you truly felt but finally gave in a few months ago. Since then your life has been perfect, Starfire became the most important thing for you and …" he said while tapping the glass near Starfire's womb "… the fruit of your love is to be born in seven to eight months".

"What are you going to do?" Robin asked while trying to break free from the cuffs that separated his hands from Slade's neck.

"I'll make you regret the day you were born" Slade replied while taking out a dagger from the side of his boot "After I shoot her in the womb I'll disembowel her and show you the child that you will never have. You won't be able to save neither Starfire nor your unborn child. Take one last good look Robin; it will be your last".

Slade went forward and pointed his gun at Starfire's stomach just as he said he would do and cocked the safety on his gun. "How does it feel to lose the one you care most for Robin? You were right back there, on the roof of the tower, you are nothing but a failure".

"STARFIRE NOOO" Robin shouted in despair as Slade prepared to shoot.

"Say good night princess, your fairy prince can't do anything about it" said Slade silently, almost whispering, as he slowly pulled the trigger.

All hope was lost. It seemed that there was nothing anybody could do to save her. Slade planed this for a good couple of years and now his hard work finally paid off. He felt the gun weld to his hand and his adrenaline rushing through his veins at maximum speed. He touched the trigger and was ready to pull it all the way back but just as he tried to do so he felt a cold piece of metal pressing down on the back of his neck.

"If you push that trigger I swear to God I will blow your brains out and feed your corpse to the dogs" a violent voice was heard.

It was Rage, he held a Desert Eagle hand-gun to the back of Slade's neck pressing down and his eyes were blood red as never before. His posture and voice made everybody realize that he wasn't joking. Cyborg watched him sneak behind Slade and putting the gun to his head and also remembered that when Rage asked for weapons and ammo he didn't ask for a gun. He looked closely and saw that his friend's gun had a strange marking on its side. It was the symbol of anarchy. This reminded him of the time Rage helped the titans defeat Team Anarchy and he remembered that they had the same symbol on their weapons. There was no doubt about the fact that Rage kept one of Team Anarchy's guns for himself, probably as a trophy or because he had a premonition.

"How did you … -"

"Escape?" Rage answered "Did you think I angered you just because I like teasing people? The cuffs were already loose when your henchmen locked me. I realized that I could not break free so I made you hit me so that the impact of your blows would loosen the grip on my hands even more … And it worked".

"Bravo Anton" replied Slade after a moment of hesitation "You have out done yourself, but what if I still decide to shoot her, what then?"

"Do not play dumb with me Wilson! I know that you would not risk your own life and that you crave to see all of us dead, hanging from the wall like hunting trophies. And call off your commandos, I can hear them approaching behind me from a mile away. Do it slowly and remember that I will not hesitate to shoot you".

Slade complied to Rage's request and pushed a button on his belt buckle that deactivated his robot commandos making them fall to the ground with a loud thud because of their metal exterior.

"Good!" Rage exclaimed "Now slowly put the gun down, kick it towards Cyborg and put your hands behind your back".

Again Slade did just as Rage said but after he put down the gun and kicked far away from where he was standing he tried to stab Rage with the dagger he had in his other hand. Rage reacted quickly and immobilized his opponent putting him face down to the floor and taking his dagger and placing it to his throat. This was the chance to finally get rid of Slade once and for all, but for some peculiar reason Rage hesitated.

"Well, well … isn't this an interesting situation" Slade grunted as his opponent slowly tightened his grip around his arms and neck.

"Yes, it would appear that the tables have turned. You no longer have the upper hand! All I have to do is cut your throat and you will die?"

"Then why am I still able to speak?" Slade asked rhetorically hoping to catch Rage of guard.

"Death is too good for the likes of you. For what you have done you deserve to be imprisoned and beaten for the rest of your miserable life. Death would only be your way out" Rage replied with a calm voice that was filled with anger and at the same time with a sense that justice was about to be served.

"Take him out Rage, show him no mercy!" all of the sudden Robin yelled out.

Seeing how he was still cuffed to the wall there wasn't much that he could do about it, but even though he still wanted to be the one that got rid of Slade he decided not to play the hero and that no matter who takes him out Slade had to disappear for good one way or another.

"No Robin, a life time of permanent seclusion and pain will be much worst than what death has to offer him".

"No, take him out … snuff him now!"

"Oh snap out of it already, you are practically taking his part. Remember when he said that he wanted to make you regret the day you were born? It is time for your revenge Robin … and ours also".

Rage's words did in fact make sense. Why offer him the easy way out when he wanted to torture him and kill those that he loved? This was Robin's opportunity to get back at Slade for everything that he had done to him, his friend and his city these last years, but before he could say anything Slade interrupted.

"Very wisely put Anton, I'm impressed, but alas, you were always a fast thinker, a good leader and an exceptional warrior"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say" Rage replied giving no importance to Slade's pathetic suck up's and scanned the base around for a rope.

"To bad your superiors and your comrades didn't think so …" said Slade, who because of his last statement got his head smashed with great fury and anger into the concrete floor of the base. For some reason this had angered Rage even more than usual as he even shouted will punishing Slade, a thing he usually didn't do while fighting.

"You can mock me, you can mock my traditions and you can even mock my country … but when it comes to my comrades do not ever speak like that again or I will do just the opposite of what I am already planning, only slower and more painful".

"Did I lie Anton? I think not … After all, you were always the best soldier in your platoon and envy was never far away because of this".

"Shut up, what do you know about the ones that envied me, huh? Mostly nothing!" Rage replied and tried to make Slade shut his mouth.

The titans saw this and remembered about Rage's explosive temper and how he acted back at the tower with Robin, BB and Raven a while ago. Needless to say Rage acted violently towards them because of their almost insignificant interference in his private life but now Slade was talking bollocks about his comrades. They all knew what this meant, Slade was in for a good beating, but Robin realized that Slade was using the "two sides of the blade" tactic to his advantage and this made him wonder how their verbal confrontation would end. Of course, it now depended on what Slade knew about Rage.

"Mostly nothing? That's what you think!" Slade replied calmly "You're superiors used to beat you, they used to work you like a dog, kick you for the most minor mistakes and you got nothing in exchange".

"It was the army not a Boy Scout club … and even so I volunteered, what did you expect to happen?" Rage asked rhetorically.

"This is not about what I expect; it's about your personal expectations".

"I went to war, I killed people, I protected my land … those were my expectations when I volunteered. End of story" said Rage in a rather laconic manner.

"What about respect? You were the leader of your platoon and yet Vlad and Andrei still disowned you".

"True, but in the end they respected me …"

"If they respected you then why didn't they follow your orders that faithful night?" asked Slade who seemed to be enjoying this "They had no respect for your word, they considered you a fool and they ended up shot in the head, the stupid weaklings".

At hearing this Rage picked up Slade and smashed him to the ground, an act the titans didn't think he was capable of seeing how Slade was in fact larger than him.

"They were my friends you mongrel!" Rage yelled out while punching Slade "You executed them with no remorse!"

After throwing another good couple of punches Rage stopped hitting Slade preferring to twist his arm to his back. Slade silently moaned and grunted from the pain but didn't sees talking.

"Vlad and Andrei were true fighters, it's a pity that I did what I had to do though … Too bad I can't say the same thing about Ivan, Vali and Robert" Slade continued.

Again Slade managed to anger his opponent, only this time Rage threw Slade's dagger into the underground river that streamed along the side of the base and hid the gun behind his back. All of the sudden Rage started kicking and brutalizing Slade like never before.

"They were my comrades you animal!" he yelled out.

"They were weak and didn't follow orders, they were nothing like you" Slade replied thus fueling his opponents anger even more.

The kicks and blows that Rage submitted his enemy to got more intense, his eyes almost started to glow red because of the anger and his fists started to bruise and bleed even more. Slade continued taunting and Rage continued beating his opponent while calling him an animal, murderer and other such names.

From what Slade said the titans now found out more things about Rage but still didn't know what it was all about and how Rage got to know Slade. They found out that Slade killed a couple of friends from his platoon, they found out he really had been in the army, that his superiors used to punish him and that some of his comrades even envied him. Even so they didn't understand why Rage would respond to such provocations as long as his friends were seemingly against him and his superiors acted like thugs. From what they had observed Rage wasn't the type that took crap from anyone and were rather surprised to find out that he was once exactly how Slade depicted him.

How did they know Slade was telling the truth? Simple, because of Rages anger.

After about five minutes of relentlessly beating up Slade, Rage picked him up and threw him into one of the metal walls. He stood in the position he was and tried to catch his breath while watching his opponent. Slade silently grunted and seemed to be in much pain all to the titans' satisfaction.

"Do not ever talk about my comrades that way" Rage sighed.

They thought it was all over, that Slade will faint and that Rage will free them, but they were wrong. As Rage caught his breath and apparently tried to walk towards Robin and take his shackles off Slade rose to his feet looking as though nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Rage stopped in his tracks and took out his gun pointing it towards Slade. "Stay where you are and do not say anything!" he ordered.

"Anton, Anton…" Slade said as he walked up to Rage "Why do you live a lie? Why don't you just admit that I was right?"

"Because you killed them!" he said while still pointing his gun towards Slade. But something wasn't right; Rage's hands started shaking as though he was nervous, a strange fact seeing how he had the upper hand in this situation.

"I only did what I was supposed to. It was either me or them, I'm sure you understand the rules of war by now" said Slade as he continued walking up towards Rage while the other seemed very nervous "And even so, why should you feel sorry for them? Admit it! You know you deserved a better treatment and more respect. Vlad and Andrei despised you, they acted as though they were your friends but they weren't. Your superiors never cared about you. For them you were only another piece of army equipment, another experiment; to them it wouldn't have mattered if you've died while training or on the battlefield. And the rest of your platoon, let's face it, if they would have respected you they wouldn't have followed Stefan and Andrei to certain failure"

"Yes but … that is not how …" Rage mumbled in astonishment

"… it happened?" Slade interrupted as he stood only two feet away from Rage's gun barrel "No Anton, that's exactly what happened! You were always the best, you gave 110 of your maximum potential, you were the most powerful, but always got less then you bargained for! Betrayed, lied to, disrespected … face it Anton, you've been taken on a suckers ride all along".

Rage started shaking franticly and sweat poured down his temples and neck while breathing hard and clinching his teeth. The finger he held on the trigger of his gun was tensed up and seemed to be one moment away from clinching all the way back. With Slade right in front of him and his weapon, Rage was so tensed up that a spark could've ignited an explosive reaction of gun shots.

He hesitated for a while and looked around him noticing his friends who were tied up and Starfire who was imprisoned in the glass chamber. He swiftly directed his attention towards Slade and raised his gun into the air and shot round after round into the wall while screaming as if something had impaled him. After this moment of high emotional energy Rage fell to his knees and yelled out in anger.

"Damn it! Those bastards! You're right Wilson! I can't believe it, you're right!"

Slade approached Rage and lifted him up to his feet. He placed a hand on his shoulder in sign of compassion and watched him as he held his gun being visibly frustrated.

"I know how it feels Anton. I'm the only one who does"

"You have no idea how it is!" Rage protested vehemently.

"On the contrary, I've been betrayed many more times then you have been … You know that, you've probably read my file".

"Yes" Rage sighed and paused for a moment "I can't believe it, all this time I searched the whole world to kill someone who was actually in the same condition that I am. God, how could I have been so stupid?"

"Rage snap out of it man" yelled Cyborg "Don't listen to him, his messin' with your mind"

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about" screamed Rage.

"It's not your fault Anton, you can't blame yourself for this. You were blinded by furry and people do stupid things in these conditions. The ones that you have to blame are actually the titans. They were the ones that manipulated you, they were the ones that used you as their butler, they were the ones that misled you and made you think that they were on the good side"

"Slade you creep! Stop it!" Raven ordered as she struggled in her chains.

"No … He is right! He is right about you!" said Rage with a calm voice as he turned to face the titans "You used me, you never told me the other side of the story. You were the ones that kept things from me and were not truthful, not the other way around".

"Don't listen to him, he's been manipulating you! You're not thinking straight man!" said Beast Boy.

"No, in fact he enlightened me. He made me see the truth, everything he said was true and truth is my only honor"

"That's right Anton, and aren't you mad about them lying to you?"

"Of course I am!"

"And what do you crave most?"

"Revenge!" Rage exclaimed.

Slade picked up Rage's weapon and threw out the empty cartridge, replaced it with a new one and loaded his weapon. He handed Rage the gun and turned his attention towards Starfire.

"Then you know what to do!" said Slade as he pointed toward Starfire.

"No, not her! I want him!" replied Rage as he pointed towards Robin making him gasp and struggle even more.

"I thought you wanted revenge, shoot her and you'll make him suffer even more" instructed Slade who seemed to hate Robin even more then he knew.

"She was not dishonest towards me, she does not deserve to die" said Rage "After all, he will die along with the rest of them and I will have her all to myself. I will lie that I could only save her and she will be forever thankful"

"Rage you bastard! Don't be a psycho like he wants you to be, remember who your friends really are"

"You suspected me of wanting her before, how is that for friendship … And you know what? Maybe I will just keep her as the payment I never received!" said Rage as he pointed his gun towards Robins head.

"I like your way of thinking" said Slade as he congratulated Rage "Why didn't I think that?"

"Because you were blinded by fury" replied Rage, using Slade's explanation that he used towards him.

"Check mate!"

Rage pointed the gun between Robin's eyes and was visibly blood thirsty. He had an almost demonic expression on his face that scared not only the titans but also Slade. The others tried to protest and tell Rage that Slade was a fraud and that he manipulated him but to no avail, it seemed like Rage just wouldn't listen.

"How does it feel Robin? How does it feel that the one you have double-crossed will now put an end to your miserable existence and have Starfire all to himself?"

"You can't do this Rage! I was your friend … Ugh … Starfire will never believe you, she's to smart!"

"On the contrary, she is in fact rather naïve. She will believe anything I tell her, I am her friend, remember?" said Rage as he grinned and seemed to be getting a sadistic pleasure out of this "Before you die, think about this: Me and Starfire together and your child calling me 'father'!"

"That ain't ever going to happen!" shouted Robin as Rage now fixed his aim and was ready too shoot

"Any last words before you die?" asked Rage.

"I'll get you for this. Whether it's in hell or heaven, I swear I'll get you for this!"

"Nice threat, but before you die keep this saying in mind: _Go the right way!_"


	36. Chapter 17

A/N: Gee, thanks for those last reviews guys :D, they really made my day seeing how I've been having minor problems lately. Thanks loads and remember that I'm writing for you ;)

So here's the next chapter ... I think you'll like it ... Apropos, it's not the last one but we're nearing the end so stay tuned, I'll update after new year's so I wish you all a Happy New Year filled with success, peace and most of all good health!

**Chapter 17 – Final Battle**

A flash of incandescent light was seen followed by a loud boom coming from Rage's gun barrel. He took the shot to the amazement and shock of the others. Slade was the one who was the most pleased by this apparently historical event but his joy would soon turn to fear.

After he shot at Robin, Rage turned around and started firing round after round towards Slade trying to hit him. Slade ducked and ran from Rage's bullets and didn't understand what was going on but one thing was for sure, he had been double-crossed and his mind tricks didn't work on Anton.

He jumped behind a metal crate thus avoiding being shot and waited until his opponent ran out of bullets. After a couple of seconds he noticed that Rage had stopped shooting and thinking that he didn't have any more ammo he hurried towards Cyborg where he kicked his hand gun before Rage intervened.

The whole team was in a state of shock and couldn't say anything. They thought Robin was dead and that this wasn't in fact real but to their astonishment, as Rage stopped shooting and reloaded, they saw Robin struggling …. And not only that, one of his hands was now free.

Apparently Rage only pretended to be angry at the titans and when he took that shot towards Robin he didn't aim for his head but for one of his cuffs that was now lying on the ground broken in half. Robin didn't understand what was going on but seized the occasion and tried to open his others shackles in order to attack Slade.

As Rage reloaded Slade picked up his gun and tried to shoot him. He jumped to his side and aimed for Slade's head but instead shot him in the hand making him drop his weapon. As Slade kneeled down because of the pain and pressed down on his wound Rage didn't hesitate one moment and went over to Robin.

"No hard feelings ey Robin? I was only joking when I said what I said" he excused himself while trying to take Robins other cuff off.

For a moment they thought that Robin was free and that him and Rage will take Slade down but a loud yell from Beast Boy soon brushed that thought away.

"Rage, look out behind you!" the green changeling shouted trying to warn his friend.

Rage looked behind him and the next thing he knew was feeling a boot hitting him in the face and being thrown into the metal wall behind Robin. He hit the wall with a loud thud and fell down to the ground. This attack caught him by surprise and after inspecting his face he noticed fresh blood spewing down from one of his eye sockets but he didn't have time to attend to his wound as a loud battle cry threateningly approached him. In a split second Rage stood up and avoided Slade's punch that made a hole in the ground, precisely in the spot where he was standing before. He was amazed by the awesome strength that his opponent possessed and starred at the ground but in only a couple of seconds he found himself under a cascade of furious kicks and punches.

As he backed up trying to get as far as he could from Slade and go on the offensive he noticed Robin struggling to break the cuffs that held him captive and wanted to get pass his opponent in order help him but his attempt was useless as Slade was in front of him every where he went.

Seeing how he had no alternative but to fight Rage clinched his fists and went on the attack. He approached Slade who was also running towards him and attempted to punch him in the face but his arm was swiftly grabbed by the villain and he was thrown several feet near the centre of the base. He landed face down on the rough concrete and as he stood up he said to himself to never attempt such a stupid attack again. He looked around to see where his enemy was but couldn't find him. Slade's base had many crates, walls and towering structures that he could easily hide behind.

"Did anyone see where he went?" he asked addressing his friends

"Watch out!" replied Robin pointing to Rage's left side.

At hearing this Rage ducked in the nick of time thus avoiding another one of Slade's powerful kicks. He didn't wait for Slade to get up and somersaulted towards him. He delivered a kick to his opponents' head that sent him tumbling around a good couple of yards and continued his attack. Slade stood up and took a battle stance just as Rage approached him and tried to punch him in the head but Rage blocked his hit and delivered an uppercut to his chin followed by a dozen kicks and punches to the back, chest, head and side parts.

During this whole time Robin finally broke his other cuff and now had both hands free. All that was left now was to smash the cuffs that held his feet into place but that wasn't as easy as it seemed because they were made out of a special type of titanium similar to the one Doom used to trap Beast Boy some months ago.

As the fighting continued it was clear that Rage had the upper hand. Slade didn't deliver one kick or punch to his opponent who constantly and restlessly pounded him. Because of Rage's blows Slade was practically thrown back and all of the sudden landed near the underground water source. He breathed deeply and seemed to be in a lot of pain. He tried to move but could only limp around. Seeing this Rage didn't take any chances and went forward. When he was three feet away from his enemy he picked up his gun and took the safety off. Slade was apparently in a lot of pain and couldn't react so Rage started stomping him to make sure he wasn't capable of attacking. After a couple of seconds he dragged Slade near the river placing him down with his head just above the water. He pointed his gun directly towards Slade's eye and was ready too shoot.

"This one is for my platoon!" he said as he tightened his finger around the trigger.

The titans saw what was happening and didn't object to what their friend was about to do; After all, the world was a much better place with out Slade, but just as they hoped to hear a gun shot going off and Slade being finished off in a pool of blood that would trickle down in the underground river they heard a grunt of pain coming from Rage and saw him suddenly kneeling down. What happened was that Slade tricked Rage into believing that he was injured, caught him off guard and shot him in the chest with one of his tranquilizing darts, but the titans didn't know this as he was out of their visual range.

Rage couldn't believe what happened and landed down with his eyes wide open. He felt a strange sensation of numbness in his whole body and started seeing Slade in different shapes. He tried to stand up and fight but the narcotic agent from Slade's dart was too strong. He fell down and dropped his gun but curiously enough didn't faint like before, yet still couldn't clearly see what was in front of him. He then noticed what appeared to be two legs and heard Slade saying: "Remember one thing, I don't tolerate double-crossing".

After hitting Rage with his dart Slade waited until he collapsed and didn't pose any threat. He stood up and picked up the gun his opponent tried to use against him and was ready to shoot but couldn't even get a good grip on it as he received a violent kick to his side making him tumble across the floor and drop the gun in the river.

"What the hell was that?" Slade asked himself having a hunch that things took a turn for the worst.

He immediately looked towards Rage and received the confirmation to his hunch. Rage was down and apparently tried to move but standing in front of him was no one other than Robin.

What happened was that Robin used the skull-key from the tip of his glove to open the lock on the cuffs rather than try to smash them and went on the offensive not even noticing that Slade had a gun.

Noticing that Slade was down Robin took out three of his exploding disk and threw them at his enemy who got a direct hit. He launched himself directly towards Slade and took out his Bo staff. He somersaulted into the air and smashed his staff into the ground as Slade dodged his blow. This didn't discourage Robin as he knew that he caught Slade by surprise and went on attacking his opponent who got back to his feet and tried blocking his blows but received several hits in the process.

When the others saw Robin fighting Slade they encouraged him to go on and don't stop until he was down.

Robin's attempts paid off and he managed to pin Slade to the wall keeping him in place by using his staff. Slade tried to push him back but to no avail. Robin was so furious that it seemed like his strength increased ten times because of the anger he felt. Seeing Slade hold him and his friends' captive and pointing a gun towards the one he loved most made Robin snap. If Rage was considered as being unstable, at that moment Robin was nothing less than a loose canon.

"This ends tonight Slade!" Robin shouted addressing his archenemy "Either you give up or I'll have to take care of you once and for all!"

Noticing Robin's determination Slade gathered all his strength and pushed him back with a powerful kick to the stomach.

"If that's the case then I hope you already wrote your last will and testament" Slade replied as he went on the offensive.

The battle that ensued was one of titanic proportion (no pun intended). They both delivered blows to each other that might have probably knocked out a normal person. Robin fought out of anger and determination to save his friends and Starfire while Slade fought out of the natural instinct of self preservation acting just like a cornered animal that would do anything just to survive.

Punches, kicks, uppercuts, somersaults followed by great slams, hand twisting … all of these succeeded one another in what clearly began to be a fight to the end between the two archenemies. After about 15 minutes during which the victor remained undetermined both Robin and Slade showed signs of fatigue but continued fighting as though a supernatural force gave them even more strength.

Because of Slade's blows Robin started forming bruises, his face started to swell up on the left side and he spat out a good amount blood. He noticed that his adversary didn't have a scratch and thought that his efforts were futile but remembering that his body, as well as his face, were all covered up he realized that this didn't necessarily mean that he wasn't injured. Little did Robin know that in this battle he started to gain ground.

A not so well delivered kick to Slade's head made Robin lose his balance and fall down. Slade seized this opportunity and proceeded to pinning him down to the floor.

"This ends tonight Robin! It ends with my total victory over your childish attempts" said Slade in order to discourage his opponent.

What Slade didn't know was the fact that Robin now took every threat as an encouragement to fight on. Not only that, but threatening and angry person during a fight had never been a smart thing to do in the first place.

Robin managed to gather his strength just like Slade did when he was down and pushed him back. The cascade of blows that ensued pushed Slade back even further making him land near one of the generators that produced electricity which was positioned near the river.

Slade seemed to be hurt but Robin didn't care, he jumped fist first towards his enemy trying to take him down one way or another but his attack went terribly wrong as Slade pulled out a wire and electrocuted him making Robin fall down in great and excruciating pain.

The odds now turned to Slade's favor and with no one to oppose him it looked as though this was the end. Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy were captive and couldn't move, Starfire was tranquilized and also held captive, Rage had been shot with a tranquilizing dart and Robin had been electrocuted. After all this time, after all of their fights, after all of their efforts, the titans were now only one step away from total annihilation … and it didn't look like Slade would hesitate to help them take that step.

As Robin fell down Slade triumphantly got up and started laughing at his wounded adversary. He kicked him a couple of times to add insult to injury.

Robin couldn't believe it … he spent all of this time trying to catch Slade and take him down and in the long run Slade won. Seeing how he couldn't move enough in order to oppose his adversary Robin decided that an honorable death was all that was left for him, although not saving his loved one and friends wasn't so honorable in his opinion.

Slade picked Robin up by the collar of his costume and with a furious yet sadistic gaze looked straight into his eyes. He pinned him the generator and held in his right hand the large wire that he used to electrocute him in the first place.

"Like I said before, this ends tonight!" Slade said with a confident tone "And rest assure that I will kill all of your friends slowly; not to mention Starfire, oh how I'll enjoy finishing her and keeping your unborn child as a trophy"

After saying this he started to threateningly approach Robin with the wire that he held "You have been a formidable warrior Robin, but in the long run, I've just been a better fighter … Now say good nigh-"

Before he could finish his sentence and carry out the execution Slade suddenly stopped. Seeing this Robin didn't understand what was going on. Slade hesitated to kill him and further more seemed to be in pain. The moment Slade stopped he immediately opened his eye wider than before.

After a small grunt of pain Slade let Robin go and stood in the position he was. A small line of blood started flowing down from the side of his mouth through his mask. He reached for his spine and noticed fresh blood on the tips of his fingers. The next instant he fell down to the ground and behind him stood a limping Rage with a pointy metal rod that was full of blood.

Seeing Slade down Robin didn't hesitate one second and tried to get up to his feet. It had been a demanding and rough battle but in the end they've won, the titans finally defeated Slade.

Not being able to get up by himself Rage helped Robin back up and they both spat on Slade with disgust.

"Are you alright?" Rage asked leaning to Robin as he too couldn't stand up straight.

"What do you think?" Robin rhetorically replied "But how did you …"

"… get back to my feet?" he interrupted "Ugh … When he shot at me he hit the wooden cross on my necklace. He only injected a small dose of tranquilizing substance, not the whole thing … Ugh … Oh thank you Lord! Thank you!"

It seemed as though Rage's prayers have been answered. The small wooden cross around his neck practically saved the whole team. Now Robin wasn't a person that believed in a particular divinity, let alone in Rage's orthodox Christian God and dogma, but this event had indeed pleasantly surprised him.

After he regained his breath Robin saw Slade lying on his back and breathing hard. He went over to him and took him by the collar of his costume, repeating the gesture that Slade had done on to him.

"Well? What are you waiting for Robin? Ugh … Isn't this what you have always wanted? Isn't this the moment you have been waiting for all along?" said Slade who was practically dying.

"You threatened my friends, you tried to kill me and you said you would cut out my child straight out of Starfire …" Robin replied summing up what Slade had in mind to do to him and to the ones he cared for.

"Yes, and don't think I wouldn't have done it or that I'll beg for your mercy …"

"Do it Robin" said Cyborg who was still captive "Do what you have to do"

"Yeah, take him out man!" Beast Boy intervened "You saw what he's capable of … "

"No, a life in solitary confinement with daily beatings is a much better punishment than death!" Robin replied wanting Slade to justly pay for all of his wrong doings.

"If you won't kill me now I'll recuperate and come after you!" Slade threatened while showing no sign of fear in the face of death. After all, why should he? He'd been dead before, he knew what death really meant.

"I am sorry to say this Robin but the others are right" said Rage who took his friends palm and handed him his gun that he previously scooped out of the river "You can either risk by sending him to jail or you can finish this right here and right now. It is you call!"

"Damn it Robin just shoot him already!" ordered Raven who grew rather impatient of the scene of forgiveness and so called justice that unfolded in front of her.

Robin was now put into a great dilemma. On one hand he wanted to make Slade suffer for everything that he had done and not kill him but on the other hand by doing so he risked Slade recovering, breaking out and coming after him once again, so the only thing left to do in order to stop him was to take him out … permanently.

He thought about this for several seconds, analyzed every aspect, took into notice every possible risk and what outcome would result from his actions and finally reached a decision … Slade had to die! No question!

"Do it!" ordered Slade as he watched his long time nemesis straight in the eyes with full determination and lack of fear.

"Before I shoot you I have to find out who is under this mask of yours" Robin replied being happy that he will finally get to see the face of the one who endangered and hurt him, his friends and innocent citizens for so many years.

Robin reached for the back of Slade's head and took off the mask that concealed the face of the person that haunted every corner of his mind and every part of his dark side. He slowly took it off and from underneath appeared the face of a very mature man, probably in his 40's or middle 40's, with abundant blond-grayish hair, a neatly trimmed beard which was now stained by the blood that poured from his mouth, strong features and a patch over his right eye (thus confirming Rage's story of Slade's handicap).

His stare was cold and full of hate and slightly startled Robin; on the other hand it made Rage smile. He was glad to see the one that killed his platoon finally getting what he deserved.

Robin stood up and aimed the gun towards Slade's eye determined to finish what his wife had started. For seconds he had flashbacks of how long he had waited for this moment, of what he had to endure, of what he made him go through, of how he failed because of him and couldn't believe that this was happening, he was only one step away from becoming a true hero.

"Any last words?" Robin asked laconically, almost sententious.

"As a matter of fact, yes! Don't think that this ends here; I will be avenged, one way or another!" replied Slade ready to give up his soul "Now shoot!"

At the sounds of these words Robin slowly grasped the trigger pulling it all the way back and shot Slade straight in his left eye. Slade's body now laid lifelessly on the floor and a small puddle of blood started flowing from underneath his head. To make sure he was dead Robin fired all of the bullets hitting Slade in the head, heart, stomach and lungs, after which dropping the gun on the cold floor.

It ended, this was the end of Slade's tyranny … He came back before but now he had no chances of returning. Robin was finally a true hero!

After shooting Slade everybody rejoiced and congratulated Robin for his decision. They didn't like taking anybody's life but when it came to Slade they made an exception.

"Good job Robin … Good job!" said Rage with a deep voice as he patted his friend on the back, congratulating and supporting him in case he had any regrets.

"Thanks Rage" replied Robin as he took out his skeleton key and gave it to his friend "Use this to free the others, I'm going to help Starfire"

"Sure thing" replied Rage taking the key and rushing but still limping towards his friends.

Rage did just as Robin had instructed him and took off the shackles that kept his friends into place. Beast Boy hugged Raven and was glad to hold her in his hands once more and Raven started crying being glad that this was all over. Cyborg rubbed his wrists also glad of being alive and grabbed Rage in a friendly yet tight victory hug.

"You did it man! You and Robin did it! You finally took care of Slade!" said Cyborg congratulating his friend.

"Do not give me any credit, Robin is the hero, not me" said Rage who was suffocating "Now please let me go, you are killing me with affection".

"Oops, sorry man, didn't notice I was breaking your bones" replied Cyborg chuckling.

"Where's Robin?" asked Beast Boy as he approached his friends with Raven by his side.

"There, he's helping Starfire" replied Raven pointing towards his current location.

After giving Rage the skeleton key Robin proceeded to help the girl he loved. When he saw her she seemed to be peacefully asleep, just as he always liked to see her, in all of her innocent and angelic alien beauty. He used a glass cutter to cut around the lock that held Starfire captive and opened the door. He took his loved one out, laid her on the ground and patted her cheek to try and wake her up.

"Wake up, oh God please weak up" demanded Robin who almost seemed to be praying while slightly touching her cheek "Wake up Princess, wake up".

The others approached and hoped everything was okay. After a couple of seconds Starfire opened her eyes and seeing Robin she asked who was there. Overjoyed by this Robin took Starfire in his arms and kissed her for the longest time ever. When the two young lovers separated they slightly panted for air.

"What is the occasion?" she asked but shortly after noticed that she was in a new place "Wait a quarknar, where am I? I am suppose to be in the room of safety in Titans Tower not … ugh …Slade is dead!"

This came as a total shock to Starfire as the last thing she remembered was feeling drowsy inside the safety room and quietly going to sleep.

"Yes, I finally did it, he's dead and he won't be bothering anyone ever again" Robin replied happily.

"But how did it happen?" the confused alien girl asked

"It's a long story, I'll tell you on the way to the tower. Come on friends, let's go home!" said Robin as he picked up Starfire carrying her in his arms and proceeding towards the door.

As everybody left talking about what had happened Rage remained behind and told everyone that he will shortly catch up with them. The others were okay with the idea and didn't ask any questions.

Rage walked towards Slade's corpse and kneeled with one foot next to him. He took out of his pocket two foreign coins that he placed over his eye lids, a needle and some thread that he put in one of his dead enemies pocket, got up, did the cross sign and said:

"_Moze li Bog da te postavi na mesto gde pripadas i moze li Isus da te osudi i kazni kako zasluzujes"_

Translation: "May God place you were you belong and may Jesus judge and punish you as you deserve!"


	37. Chapter 18 Part 1

A/N: Again I must thank you for your reviews, I greatly appreciate it and I hope you had a great New Years celebration ... I know I did :). Thanks again and here's the new chapter.

**Chapter 18 – The past is revealed**

**Part 1 – Abnormal behavior**

Before leaving Slade's base Beast Boy noticed something rather peculiar that he thought would be of great importance. He saw two file cabinets on the left of a large conveyor belt and decided to check it out. He opened them both and found files that were labeled as "Top Secret". Thinking they will be of good use he asked Rage to help him take them to the T-Sub and show them to Robin.

When Robin saw the files he was very intrigued but at the same time glad that Beast Boy found them. On the way home Starfire sat along side him as Rage sat in her usual place and inspected the files along with Robin. The files contained data about Slade's military and mercenary past. All of the information was classified but Robin still decided to read it as he was most curious about his dead archenemies past. All of Slade's past was reveled in those pages, from the time he had undergone those experiments, to his departure from the army, mercenary activity, family affairs and problems, weaknesses and possible future plans. He also found out that his son Joseph, the one Rage talked about earlier, was no one other than Jericho, one of the honorary titans. There was no doubt about the fact that they had been stolen by Slade in order to hide his past but now Robin could finally rest assure that he was gone and that he now knew everything there was to know about him.

"But if they were stolen how come Rage knew this type of information?" Robin asked himself pondering more and more about his friend.

When they arrived home a new sensation was in the air, respectively the sentiment of relief. As they walked up towards the main room none of them could believe that it was all over. They dreamt of this moment (especially Robin) for such a long time that now it seemed too good to be true, yet none the less they were nothing more then glad that it finally happened.

As they entered the main room Cyborg gladly sighed: "Man it's good to be home".

The titans jumped on the couch and checked the clock; it was 1:00 A.M. They were tired but didn't feel the need to sleep seeing how they've been knocked out for over an hour after their encounter with Slade. Beast Boy picked up the remote ready to turn on the TV set but Robin stopped him.

"Not so fast Beast Boy, we still have one thing to do before this is all over".

Robin took the remote from BB and switched the TV to PC mode and called the head of Jump Cities police force, police chief Edward Ford.

A ringing sound was heard for several seconds and finally the image of Edward Ford working at his desk appeared on screen. Edward Ford slightly reminded Robin of Lieutenant Gordon from Gotham City, an older and balder version of him that is.

"Robin, I'm glad you finally called, where the heck were you guys today? Someone's been bombing the city and we really need your help" he said sounding a bit displeased because of the Titans absence.

"Nice to see you too Ford" Robin replied in a familiar and well disposed tone "I have great news for you, we found out who's behind the bombings"

"Let me guess, Slade?"

"Exactly"

"And you consider this excellent news?" Ford asked sounding rather sarcastic.

"Yeah because we finally got him" Robin replied triumphantly.

"I'm sorry Robin but could you repeat that last sentence, I don't think I've heard well" he asked, surprised of what Boy Wonder just said. In fact he correctly heard what his close ally in crime fighting had said but he though he didn't hear well because of the stress and constant work.

"Just like I said, we finally stopped Slade! He won't be bothering anyone anymore! And we have a couple of interesting files that I think he had stolen from a military data base" replied Robin while holding up the documents that were labeled as Top Secret.

At the sight of this Ford couldn't believe it.

"Robin this is terrific!" he exclaimed "How did you do it?"

"Long story, but I'm willing to talk about it over some tea and biscuits" he replied in a very humoristic manner.

"Ha ha, alright Robin we'll do that sometime, but first you have to bring Slade into custody"

Here's one thing Robin forgot about … killing was still illegal even if he was a superhero. Fortunately for him Ford was an understanding fellow and knew that he would understand his actions even if he had to take matters to the extreme.

"Err, I can't … because … he's not with us" said Robin a bit nervously.

"Eh, no problem, just tell me were to pick him up from and my boys will be taking him for a ride in an instance"

"I don't think you understand, when I said that we stopped him I meant we really _stopped him_"

"I don't understand Robin, what are you trying to say?"

At hearing this Robin didn't know how to lay it on him so he just mimicked putting a gun to his head and shooting.

"You mean you … "

"We had no other choice. It was either us or him and I had to do it"

"Ugh, well I guess it had to happen sooner or later" Edward Ford replied shrugging and still looking amazed "Well Robin I have to admit that I would have done the same thing if I were you, good job lad"

"Yeah, but there's still one more thing you know …"

"You're referring to Slade's unexplainable suicide, right?" said Ford blinking sheepishly at Robin, a sign that meant that he will conduct the investigation in such a manner that Robin won't be involved in anything.

"Right, thanks loads Ford, I owe you one, and I'll send you those coordinates first thing tomorrow morning along with the files".

"Sure thing Robin, no problem at all … Oh and by the way, I've been hearing rumors that you and Starfire have been doing the wild thing and that you're expecting a kid in a few months. Good for you lad, congratulations and send Starfire my best regards"

"Will do, Robin out!" he said as he ended their conversation.

He turned around towards his friends and sighed with relief for the first time since they have arrived at the tower. With this being done it only meant one thing … Slade was gone, they were safe, Robin wasn't going to face prosecution and Starfire could now have the baby without the fear of some maniac threatening her … life was finally starting to get back to normal.

"So that's it huh?" Cyborg asked.

"I guess so … Man who would ever have thought that killing Slade would feel so great" replied Robin triumphantly.

"The sentiment of greatness is pleasure full only because of the fact that you have accomplished your final goal and because you have overcome your greatest challenge yet" said Starfire addressing her loved one.

"And not only that princess" replied Robin walking towards her and kneeling down "It also feels great because we're all here safe and sound and because you and our child are safe"

"Talk about peace and tranquility ey Rachel?" said Beast Boy who slightly nudged his girlfriend with his elbow but noticed that she was actually depressed. "Rachel what's wrong?" he asked while taking her into his arms.

"Please don't believe what Slade said about me Gar, please don't" she replied with a voice that sounded as though she was asking him for forgiveness and was also ready to cry.

"Hey, hey, it's okay! I don't care about what that sicko said; he's gone now" Beast Boy said gently while caressing he fair facial features "And I don't care if we can't have a child … well actually I do, but as long as we have each other it's going to be alright".

"No, that's what I've been trying to tell you, I can have children" she replied all to Beast Boy's and the to others satisfaction "Yes, I am a spawn of demon and human, but after I liberated myself from my fathers spell I became free and his demonic seed is no longer present inside my genetic make up. I always avoided a conversation about having a baby because we're still too young and not ready for one".

"You could've just said so you know" said Beast Boy.

"Yeah but I didn't know how you would react" Raven replied.

"Well I know now, and I'm not reacting in an unpleasant way am I?"

"No…"

"See, it's okay to tell me anything, no matter how bad it is, that's why I'm here Rachel"

Things were going just as they have hoped. All problems have been cleared and the two couples in the tower now valued liberty and understood how important it was to spend a lot of time together.

"Well I guess that leaves just the two of us now huh buddy?" said Cyborg addressing Rage "Two guys with a love for body building, what more could anyone … hey where did he go?"

No one noticed it but when the titans entered the main room Rage didn't come inside with the rest of them, but who could blame them? They were so glad to be rid of such a pest as Slade that they didn't even want to focus on anything.

"Where is friend Rage? Why is he not aside us in this moment of great joy?" Starfire asked curiously.

"Dude that guy is totally weird, where did he go all of the sudden?" said Beast Boy who also intrigued by his friend's strange behavior.

"Something tells me that he's up on the roof again" replied Raven.

"I think he's there too. What could he be doing up there all this time? Did you ever notice that he likes that place a lot? He says that he loves the view and just smokes but it's hard to believe'em man" said Cyborg.

"Actually I have noticed that, and the only way to find out what he's doing is to go up to up there by our selves and find out. Let's go" replied Robin who wanted to find Rage and ask him a couple of unanswered questions. Rage's peculiar behavior has always intrigued him and he was more than eager to find out what his team mate was up to.

Before going up the titans agreed to first see if he was in his room. After knocking on the door a couple of times they received no answer. Thinking that he could also be asleep Raven used her powers to penetrate the walls and try to sense any brain activity but to no avail, he wasn't there.

There was only one thing left to do: go up to the roof top, the place where Rage would spend his time if he wasn't cleaning, reading or working out. As they walked up the stairs they could see ahead of them that the door was wide open. They silently approached to catch Rage off guard but found him kneeling down near the edge of the tower, facing the moon and holding something in his hands while talking in his native language. Also he took off his shirt and now the scars on his back were clearly visible to all of them.

"What's he doing?" asked Cyborg who was amazed by what he saw.

"I believe he is, how you say, praying …" replied Starfire confirming what some of them thought.

"Can you translate what he's saying?" asked Robin.

"Yes I can" she said and started translating what Rage was saying:

"… While the innocent souls of all these victims shall go to Heaven and eternally rest on the right side of Your son and our savior Jesus Christ, his soul shall go to hell. He not only killed my comrades but also killed hard working and faithful citizens of this city and caused much suffering to my friends and others. I ask of you Father only to judge him righteously and offer him the destiny that suits his actions. Also Father please forgive Robin for what he has done today for he did it with good intention and in part his mistake is in fact mine. If it is in anyway possible I am ready and willing to take his sin upon my person, anything just for You to forgive my good friend Robin …"

"He's praying for me?!" Robin said to himself feeling flattered and at the same time ashamed for suspecting Rage of being weird and for every bad thing he said about him.

"… And last, I would like to send a message to my comrades: Your memory has been avenged, you're killer has been eliminated and shall suffer for his sins according to how our Father decides to. Rest in peace, you shall never be forgotten. God rest their souls! In the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen".

This prayer made everyone realize just what kind of guy Rage really was. He appeared to be very spiritual and this fact seemed strange to them seeing how in battle he was always merciless. After making the cross sign he stood up straight, facing the moon and saluting. He began singing something that the others didn't understand but recognized it as probably being an anthem because of the heroic tone of the song.

"What's he doing now?" asked Raven

"He is singing a heroic song of sorts" Starfire replied seeming unsure of her answer

"Translation?" BB demanded, after which Starfire started translating what Rage was singing.

"Our enemy is approaching, he is armed and ready  
With much anger in his pagan heart.  
He wishes to destroy our lands and kill our folk  
And set alight our ancient roots

Arise, arise warriors of our nation  
Can you not hear your peoples call?  
Can you not hear your land crying?  
Arise, arise warriors, it's time for war

Valleys shall be filled with blood  
And our corpses shall be scattered on the plains  
But still our golden hearts hold 7 lives,  
Our enemies shall never prevail!

For Church, for land, for history  
We are brothers, let us all unite  
And on the battlefield let's face all dangers  
And fight with courage all as one

Death does not frighten us  
All warriors are immortal  
Death is sweet and we all crave it  
For our memory shall be forever crowned

Our elders watch upon us now  
Tonight we shall sit aside them in Heaven  
We'd rather die in battle with full glory  
Then be again slaves on our eternal lands"

After he was finished the Titans were indeed amazed by the sheer heroic beauty of his song. They now saw him differently than they did before but Robin still needed answers.

Rage pulled out his gun and loaded it using a new cartridge. At seeing this BB thought that he's going to shoot himself but Robin and Cyborg told him to calm down. Rage pointed his gun towards the stars and shot 17 successive rounds into the air after which he let his gun drop and fell to his knees again.

"What's he doing now?" Cyborg asked

"I do not know, he is not saying anything" Starfire replied

"He's feeling … down" replied Raven who used her telekinetic powers to sense Rage's emotions "He's sad and he's forcing himself not to cry … and man is he doing a good job!"

Rage depressed? That just didn't sound right. They knew Rage as being the psycho kid of the team that would snap at any provocation and would surely beat the hell out of you if you were his opponent. Rage feeling down just didn't add up, he was always either angry or well disposed and this new feeling didn't seem natural for him.

"Follow me" Robin instructed as he walked forward towards his friend.


	38. Chapter 18 Part 2

**A/N: **_Phew, I finally done it! I was supposed to update this story on Thursday but my brother took my laptop couse he did some real stupid shit, but now that I have it back I an update, woohoo!  
Alright, now this one is a bit longer than the other chapters but I think it's worth it. It's the chapter where Rage tells the titans about his past, his connections to Slade, his abnormal behavior etc etc ... At the beginning I had a bit of writers block not knowing how to write about him so that he wouldn't become a Gary Sue character but as I wrote along the ideas just came by themselves.  
Oh yeah, and if anyone is interested about how Rage would look like here's a sketch a friend of mine made after my description:_ **http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2509/rageim7.jpg** ... _Okay, so he's not the brightest pickle in the jar but he did his best._

_Alright, I said enough, so without further ado ..._ **Enjoy!**

**Part 2 – My name is Anton Dragan Mikhail**

Seeing Rage on his knees surprised all of the titans but especially Robin. He made a step forward and went towards his friend being followed by the rest of the team. They approached Rage who apparently didn't seem to hear them and was only looking up at the sky.

"Rage" Robin called out trying to get his friends attention.

At hearing this Rage swiftly jumped up to his feet in an up right position and tried to look as though nothing happened.

"Oh hi Robin, Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg … How are you doing? I thought you guys were in the main room celebrating Slade's defeat" he replied with a false tone of good disposition and an expression that expressed no concern what so ever.

"Not really, we just came here to check up on you" replied Cyborg cautiously.

"Check up on me? Oh you do not need to do that, I am all fine and dandy and glad of our victory. There is no reason of concern, he he" Rage responded chuckling not wanting to look as though he wasn't in a good mood.

Why was Rage hiding his true feelings and was so nice all of the sudden? Sure, Slade's defeat would trigger a change of character into anyone's personality but the fact was that Rage was hiding his sadness and didn't want to alarm his friends and more than probably felt the need to be alone. This fact some what annoyed Robin who needed answers but he didn't want to ruin the moment of kindness that was about to follow. He thought about what he was going to say to make Rage talk to them truthfully but to his surprise Raven was the one that spoke out first.

"Rage, or Anton, or whatever your name is, we know you're not okay, I can sense it, remember?"

"Non sense" Rage protested calmly "I am fine and there is no need to worry. What makes you think I am not happy?"

"We have observed you while saying the prayer and singing" interrupted Starfire "Please pardon our interference in your personal matters but we were most curious"

"Yeah man, we understand what you went through and it's no shame in admitting that you're feeling sad" said Beast Boy trying to make his friend feel better about himself.

"Wait a second, you spied on me and you understood what I said?" Rage asked being surprised of what his friends had told him.

"Well, yeah, but we only did it couse we wanted to know more about you" replied Cyborg who didn't want to anger his friend seeing how such discussions didn't end so well in the past.

"But how is it possible for you to understand what I have said?" Rage inquired.

"It is because of me" Starfire continued "Merely through physical contact I can absorb any spoken language and we have indeed partaken in such contacts before"

Rage was surprised and didn't know what to say, he realized that if this was true then it meant that Starfire could well have been listening to him talk to himself all along with out him knowing it. His mood turned from depression to panic and Raven could sense it.

"Well, I did not know that" Rage replied a bit surprised and a bit amused of the situation "Please tell me, exactly what have you heard coming out of my mouth these last few months".

"Well, we've heard what you said today and we also heard you talking about Slade a couple of months ago" said Robin.

"You have haven't you?" Rage replied rhetorically.

"Yes we have, but tell me, the things that you said about me in your prayer, were they true?" Robin asked.

Rage looked at him and gulped. His face was bloody and a bit swollen up because of the fight that ensued earlier and the scar on his face seemed to be bleeding. It was a cold November night but Rage didn't shiver preferring to stay bare waist with out his shirt on while his friends would look at the scars on his chest and shoulder from time to time.

"Yes Robin, what I have said was indeed true. In my code of ethics and morals killing is a sin, and because you are my friend and I am partially to blame for your sin I have asked God to take your sin upon me"

"Why?"

"Because I have already sinned lots of times and there is no need for you to go to hell"

"Gee, thanks" said Robin realizing that even though he didn't believe in such things what Rage did was in fact an act of friendship and sacrifice "But what about Slade? We've heard you talking about him before but you still acted as though you didn't know him. What's up with that?"

"Yeah, and what about that dream of yours? What did it actually mean?" asked Raven

"And you're overwhelming anger and change of eye color when you are enraged, why does that happen?" Starfire continued

"Not to mention that crazy temper of yours" said Cyborg

"And the fact that you're always creepy and don't talk that much and don't play video games and eat veggie pizza and always spend hours in the gym or reading …"

Robin's question set of a mass reaction that engulfed all of the team. They bombarded Rage with an overwhelming number of questions that quickly confused him, not knowing were one question was coming from and what to say. Finally, not being able to take anymore questions and realizing that he had been keeping too much from his friends he decided to straighten things out.

"All right, all right I understand, I will answer to all of your questions, Jesus!" said Rage while trying to stop the cascade of question his friends submitted him to.

"You will?" asked Robin.

"Yes, yes I will, but please let me speak and don't interrupt me with such numerous questions. I will tell you anything you want to know" he replied calmly putting his hands up to his chest level trying to signify that they should take him slower.

At hearing this the titans stopped asking so many questions and were ready to listen to what Rage had to say. They wondered who should ask first and decided to let Robin do it.

"All right, let's start with the basics, exactly who are you and where are you from?" he asked being glad that we would finally get the answers he needed.

"My name is Anton Dragan Mikhail. I hail from Serbia and I am 19 years of age. I was part of a Serbian secret force project that trained young boys from the age of 10 and I have fought in the recent Serbo-Croatian war"

"Wait a second, you're Serbian?" asked Beast Boy pointing towards his friend "I always thought you were Russian"

Hearing what his friend said Rage chuckled as if he had heard that particular line before.

"He he, well we are closely related to the Russians and our languages do sound alike and our peoples are both of Slavic descent, but no, I am from Serbia, Belgrade to be more exact"

"But you just said that you're 19 years old" said Raven "Didn't you say you were actually 18?"

"That was a few months ago. My day of birth is on the 7th of November and this was two weeks ago"

"It was? Dude why didn't you say anything?" inquired Beast Boy "We could've thrown you a great birthday party"

"With Slade threatening us celebrating my day of birth was the last thing I had on my mind"

"That explains it" said Raven almost whispering "But what about that dream of yours?"

"What dream?" Rage asked not understanding what Raven meant.

"You know, the dream I told you about a couple of months ago in July when you flipped out and grabbed me" Raven replied "The one with the war and the wounded people and the demolished cities and the woman who was leaving. I tried to figure out what it meant but it doesn't add up, all I know is that they could be memories but I can't piece the part with that woman. What was it all about anyway?"

"Yeah, and did it have something to do with what went on these last months?" asked Robin having a hunch that it meant much more then they imagined.

Rage looked at them with a surprised expression on his face and scratched his head.

"Well Robin, it does has something to do with what went on, a lot actually, but in order to explain both the dream and its effects and my behavior I will have to tell you more about myself, much more"

"Alright, we're listening" Cyborg replied seeming interested by his friend's tale.

"Are you sure you want to hear it? It is quite long and I think you are very tired" said Rage who was apparently hesitant again.

"We are not" Starfire replied "but we are most curious about your life and would like to know more about you".

What Starfire said didn't surprise Rage at all. After all, he was usually reclusive and didn't talk that much so her answer didn't seem so strange to him. Preparing to tell his friends what they wanted to hear Rage decided to put his shirt on but didn't button it up and lighted the last cigarette from his pack.

"Alright, I will tell you what you want to hear, but please; I would prefer that what I say to remain a secret" he said blowing out the smoke from his lungs.

"Oh sure, we won't say anything. You can trust us" the others said almost in unison.

After taking another smoke from his cigarette Anton sighed and started.

"Well Raven, you were right, that dream of mine was nothing more than awful memories from my past, even the part with the women that was leaving. You see, that women was actually my mother. I never knew my father and my mother abandoned me with my uncle when I was only 2 years old and that vision of her in my dream was the last memory I have of her"

"That is quite sad friend Rage. I am most sorry to hear that" replied Starfire who knew what it meant to grow up without parents.

"Do not be, I actually do not give it much thought anyway" said Anton truthfully "She left me when I was small and I went on with my life not caring about it. It is how that American saying goes: _there is no use crying over spilled milk_"

Hearing what Anton said made the titans ponder a little. Most of them grew up without parents or were separated from them and always felt sorry or blamed them selves for what happened. On the other hand Anton said that he didn't give it much thought … This was a thing they all should have done, but alas, they were more sentimental than him and what applied to him didn't necessarily also apply to them.

"Alright, go on" Raven replied wanting to hear more about her friend.

"Right, so after my mother left me I was brought up by my uncle. My uncle, Maxim Dragan Goran, was an officer in the Serbian army and he was only 27 when my mother entrusted me to him. He raised me in a patriotic and Christian spirit and taught me how to fight. He educated me and also took me to work with him were I saw what true discipline meant"

"Army full childhood huh?" asked Cyborg after hearing what he said.

"Not really" Anton replied in a sort of hesitant tone "I mean sure, I watched the soldiers training and learnt a lot of things about weapons but sometimes some of my uncle's trainees would take me out to play a game of soccer with them or even shoot with a rifle, it was sort of nice actually"

"Interesting, but what about school and education?" asked Robin.

"Oh, I only went to school for a year" Anton replied "After that my uncle started educating me by his own. He taught me how to read, count and do calculus and made me fall in love with literature, but this happened until I was 10"

"What happened after that?" asked Robin remembering that Anton said earlier, that at the age of 10 he became member of a Serbian secret force project.

"At the age of 10 it all began" Anton started "You see, one day my uncle told me to come with him to work and that it could be a memorable day for me. Listening to what he said I followed him and we drove to a military base I've never been to before. We entered the base and I've noticed the high security and realized that this was no ordinary military training ground. After we got out we both reported to the head quarters of that base. The room we entered was all white and filled with wooden furniture and inside there were three men that were talking quite loudly to each other, an old man with a beard which was dressed as a general, a man in a suit which I later found out that he was a agent of the secret Serbian defense force and a man dressed in a military uniform with a golden cross around his neck which was no one other than the famous Arkan"

"The war-time criminal?" Robin asked with eyes wide open as windows.

"I prefer to call him a hero, but that is my personal point of view so let us move on" Anton insisted as he threw his cigarette down on the roof floor, stepped on it and then placed it back into his pocket so that he didn't make a mess "So, after we entered and saluted, the three men looked at me and visually inspected me and the way I stood and after that told me to wait outside for a moment. I went outside and tried to hear what they were speaking but a guard told me not to be sneaky or otherwise I will get in trouble. After about a half an hour the man in the suit left followed by the great Arkan. Before my uncle called me inside Arkan kneeled down to my level, patted me on the cheek and told me to make the right decision, both for me and for the fatherland. At that moment I did not understand what he meant by that but after I went inside I found out that I was offered the chance to take part in a secret military program called "Uber Soldat" that was suppose to train me and other boys my age to become a future leading force in the army. All I needed to do was to accept their proposition and sign a contract and seeing how I was small and enthusiastic I read the document and signed it".

"At the age of ten? That doesn't sound right!" exclaimed Beast Boy "Why so young? What were they going to do with you?"

"Indeed, it is most curious that they have made such a proposition to such a young boy seeing how earth boys are still weak at that age" continued Starfire who was also paying attention to this discussion.

"At strange as it seems it is the truth. From what I have learned this program was thought up by the Serbian secret forces and accepted by the government" Anton said "And not only that, but almost every civilized country has such programs. Slade was part of such a program and also Leonid Kovar of Russia, you might know him as Red Star, he is also a hero in his country"

"Yes, we know him" Robin replied "In fact he's an honorary titan, but he was submitted to radioactive tests and research, did the same thing happen to you?"

"Not quite, but I am getting to that in a second" Anton continued "After I signed that document only one weak had passed and I was taken to a military ground that I have never been to or seen before. This reminds me about Spartan education but I do not want to talk about it as I would just seem full of myself and also get cocky. So, when I reported to my superiors I found out that 19 other boys who were the same age as I were in the same program. My uncle moved close to the base in a near by small town and he would check up on me every month. The program was structured into 10 years and 4 time periods, each period consisting of 2 years"

"And your comrades were the boys who had taken part in this program you speak of?" asked Starfire

"Yes, and we practically grew up together ever since" Anton confirmed Starfire's hunch "In the first period, from the age of 10 to 12 we got to know each other and we were taught basic and with time passing more advanced survival skills and such things, sort of like in the boy scouts if you may, but a bit harder"

"Well the first years don't sound so hard" said Cyborg concluding that his friend had a time of two years to adjust.

"Not quite" Anton responded a bit agitated as though he remembered something unpleasant "Even if we were not pushed to our limits the training was still sort of intense and our instructors stressed the importance of discipline. They stressed it so hard that they would kick us in the stomach for any minor mistake"

"But that does not seem right" Starfire replied "Please, did they give the bad kicking of the butt?"

"To be honest, yes, but in the long run it was a good thing; it made us stronger and more resistant, we learned the importance of discipline, we started working as a team and I made two close friends with whom I topped our platoon, their names were Vlad and Andrei"

"Weren't they the ones that Slade kept yakking about?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yes they were, and for some time we were almost inseparable" Rage replied "But with our training continuing at a higher step rivalry and envy had reared its ugly head. The next period took another two years, since the age of 12 to the age of 14. This phase was much harder, it was regular military training. We learned to fire with weapons, give first aid on the battlefield, simulated war time conditions, went into the woods for three days and nights having to fend for our selves, things like that, and last but not least patriotic pride"

"And how exactly did this rivalry and envy appear between you and you friends? … pardon, comrades" Raven asked mumbling a little.

"Because of pride" Anton replied "After what we went through and after being taught that we were to become great soldiers all of us pushed our spirits and bodies forward to become the best there is. Me, Vlad and Andrei were the best but I was better, thus earning the title of lieutenant, a fact that displeased my two comrades who started to envy me so much that they would try to keep me up at night so that I would fail the next day"

"I'm not the one to judge Rage, Anton, whatever … But they didn't seem like true friends after all" said Beast Boy.

"Yes, their behavior was not faithful nor honorable seeing how I was both their friend and superior, but I told our instructors what had happened and they took care of the problem" Anton replied "So going on … After I became lieutenant and we all reached the age of 14 we passed to the second last phase of the program. We were now properly trained and disciplined and knew that the next two phases will be the hardest yet, but at the same time the Croatian government started to pressure our country and threaten our people with war. We entered the next phase and our training became harder. We had to fend for our selves for two whole weeks in the forest with out tools and only relying on team work, we were submitted to torture and mental integrity pressure training just in case we got caught, we learned two languages and mid level storm tactics, we learned to operate bigger weapons, I was assigned to artillery training, and last but not least, we were submitted to more … special tests"

"What kind of tests?" Robin asked suspecting that he will find out something that he always wanted to know.

"Bio-chemical test" Anton replied with a deep voice, a sign that these 'tests' were in fact something of grave importance "The ones who were in charge of the "Uber Soldat" project decided that at the age of 15 our bodies were able and ready to withstand chemicals and serums that would improve our physique and mental capacity"

"Why didn't they just use radioactive treatments instead?" asked Raven

"Because radioactive treatments in physique development have proven to be highly dangerous and instable. You probably know what happened to Leonid Kovar, but you must also know that such research has been carried out in the past in multiple countries and the effects were the same, that is why the Serbian secret forces decided only to inject us with these substances"

"The same thing happened to Slade" Robin realized, remembering what he had read in the files he received "But what kind of substances did they use on you?"

"To be honest I have no idea what they were called" Rage responded while lifting his shoulders "We were taken to a laboratory where we were injected with three types of serums and chemicals once every weak. I can still remember it. Those white robes and those darkened goggles, puncturing my veins with numerous needles and pumping chemicals into me, I get chills down my spine just by remembering"

"And what was the effect of those particular chemicals that were injected into your veins?" asked Starfire

"Well Starfire, some of those effects you have already noticed and I am afraid that they have become permanent" he replied "You know how my eyes become red when I am angry and how outrageous I behave when something is not right, even though my friends could be the only ones who are involved? Those things occurred and still occur because one of these chemicals. The first substance that they injected in us was a green substance which had the role of making us more resilient to stress conditions. The second one was also a green substance which was hormone and protein based and would fasten our physical development, offering us a more muscular and resilient body. The last chemical was red, and its formula a well protected secret. It gave us stamina and a high level of resistance but it also had a strange impact on our brain. While in training, this chemical reacted by turning me and other three of my comrades into merciless maniacs. Our eyes turned red because of the faster circulation of our blood through our blood vessels and we felt the absolute need to totally destroy our targets"

"So that's why you get all crazy and red eyed and flipped when I beat you at video games?" asked Beast Boy

"Exactly" Anton replied "So going on … with three weeks before I turned 16 the Croatian government started bombing Serbian border cities and its army started advancing inland. Another war began. Our government responded and declared all out war against Croatia being determined to defeat them once and for all. I first found out about this when I noticed tanks and troops leaving our base. I asked my superiors what was going on and they told me what had happened and also said that if the Croatian troops will pass the Novi Sad line and come within 50 kilometers of Belgrade then we will be sent into battle as a special unit of storm troopers"

"At the age of 16?" Cyborg asked being amazed by what he heard "What's wrong with them? How can they send 16 year olds to war?"

"They had no choice, if the Croatians would have entered Belgrade and occupy it then they would have won the war" Anton replied "They decided to use any necessary force in order to win and we were no exception. After about a month of fighting the Croatian army started gaining ground and have passed the Novi Sad line. After another three weeks during which I turned 16 and should have gone into the last phase of the program our instructors woke us up at 5 in the morning and told us to report to our superiors. We were being sent to war. We suited up and packed our ammunition and health kits and inspected our weapons, after which an army truck took us to the front. Before I left my uncle came over and told me that he was very proud of me and offered me his holy cross, the one that I wear around my neck. He told me that it saved him from bullets in the first Serbo-Croatian war and that it will do the same for me"

"No doubt about that" replied Robin glad that his friend's good luck charm had saved them "So you went to war, what happened next?"

"When we left the grounds of our base we found that it was situated just outside Pančevo city, only a couple of miles away from Belgrade. We arrived in the capital at 7:30 A.M. and saw what enemy fire and air raids did to the city. It was horrible I tell you, horrible" said Anton while clinching his fists "Half of Serbia's army forces were concentrated along what we called the Belgrade line. We were assigned to join the 23rd infantry battalion but at the same time didn't have to rely on them. Also, we had to report once a week to infirmary tents and show a special document in order to be injected with the three serums"

"Were you addicted or something?" Robin asked

"It was an order, I can only guess that either those chemicals were still in research stage or that our superiors wanted us to fight harder, who knows?!" said Anton not understanding that particular order from his past "So, we first headed into battle in December. It was cold and we had to take over enemy positions at night. We approached them cautiously on the left flank but they had skirmishes and started shelling us. When I saw shells coming down the red serum kicked in and I ran forward but one of the shells landed 10 meters to my left and a piece of shrapnel hit me in the cheek. That is how I got this scar on my face"

"Did it hurt?" Raven asked curiously

"It hurt like hell" Anton replied laconically and a bit infuriated by the memory "But as we all know scars are like medals, you wear them with pride and never feel ashamed about them. They prove that you have survived a dangerous incident"

"That's how I feel about these mechanical parts of mine. What happened next?" Cyborg asked.

"When the shrapnel hit me in the face I fell down for a moment but because of the serum I got back on my feet and me Vlad and Andrei lead the attack and took out 50 enemy soldiers with the help of our platoon, who were defending an artillery battery and also captured various supplies of food, medical equipment and weaponry. After we occupied that position we redirected fire towards the enemy and in disarray they panicked and fall back several miles behind our lines. That was our first attack, some got injured but survived, some made it out without a scratch, but that was only the beginning"

"Please Anton, tells us more about what had happened in the war against your Croatian enemies" said Starfire who became quite interested about his story.

"Alright, I will tell you" he replied calmly even if for him this wasn't something pleasant to remember "After this first attack we continued our actions as storm troopers. Our training proved to be effective and also the chemicals seemed to be doing their work but in the first 6 months of the war each of us had been shot or wounded at least two times. Luckily for us no body died, but our actions came to be known by both our enemy and compatriots and we earned the respect that we deserved. For one year we fought and killed for the fatherland, for every enemy that I have killed I said a prayer of forgiveness but for every burned down church I would kill 10 enemies. We learned many things, even how to smoke or drink for example but we also learned how fast a life could end. We passed through many cities and villages and have seen how our fellow Serbs suffered. We could not take it anymore; we decided that if we were to die than the last one who is standing to do what I did tonight"

"From what I hear you had a really rough time during this war" said Robin who remembered about this sort of news about the war that Anton took part in when he also discovered what the Brotherhood of Evil were actually planning.

"I believe that you can not even imagine" replied Rage a bit unsure of his response, not knowing if the titans have faced much harder situations than his.

"Probably not, but how did you get to know Slade and how did he kill you comrades?" Raven asked

"I am getting to that right now" he replied "You see after one year of fighting our forces were at a stand still. Both armies suffered heavy losses and they were stranded at the Novi Sad line continually fighting. Our government and secret forces decided to put an end to this war and they enlisted us to take out important figures of the Croatian government. At first we all thought it was strange and to this very day I still do not understand why they have chosen us but we had no other choice, those were the orders and we had to do it"

"And how did you get pass enemy lines?" Beast Boy asked "You were 16, pretty young if you ask me, and I don't think that wearing a uniform might have done the trick"

"You are right Beast Boy, it was not that easy" Anton responded "We took part in an air raid that our aviation forces had to proceed to while Vlad flew a glider behind the bombers in order to catch the enemy off guard. The trick worked and we landed safely between Zagreb and Sisak, in a forest near the village of Zarad. We got out of the glider and stole a truck with which we drove all the way to Zagreb. When we arrived it was morning and the city was teaming with soldiers. We took shelter in an abandoned warehouse and decided the course of action. At first Andrei and Vlad protested but Ivan and Robert calmed them down and assured them that my plan would work. Andrei and seven other comrades were to take out the Croatian minister of defense and the minister of economy, Vlad and another seven comrades would take out the minister of communications and the prime minister and me and other six comrades had to assassinate their president. It was hard and we knew that some, if not all of us, would not make it out alive, but we decided that it was either victory or death. From that point on there was no turning back"

"And how did these executions go? Did you get out on time and hit all of your targets?" asked Raven who felt a little eerie for standing so close to a 'mercenary soldier'.

"The assassination plot had worked" Anton replied "At 11:30 P.M. we were all in positions and executed the orders that our superiors gave us. We wasted no time and rendezvoused back to the truck with the Croatian police and guards on our trail. We drove off into the night and took the long road towards the village of Drenovci through dense forests. At first we thought that we were safe but after 2 hours of driving Andrei told me that he noticed a car driving at about one hundred yards behind us with the lights off. When we heard this we switched into high gear but they were still following us. Vali tried to aim for the driver seeing how he was the best sharp shooter of the team but to no avail. When we got near Drenovci we jumped out of the truck and ran into the forest trying to buy some time by making our followers inspect the truck first. The night was chilly and we ran as fast as we could. A half an hour later we stumbled upon a fork in the road. I suggested to make way towards the east and cross the border cautiously into Serbia and finally to safety but Vlad and Andrei suggested to cross the border into Bosnia and after that illegally pass into Serbia. Because of this an argument ensued and the team decided to follow Andrei and Vlad instead of listening to a direct order from their lieutenant. I did not want to break international laws but seeing how I was responsible for my platoon I had no other choice but to follow them. We silently walked through the brush for about another 15 minutes before we heard gun shots. We were still ten kilometers away from the border so we realized that it could not have been the border guards. We turned around and heard someone calling us to stop in Croatian but we did no such thing. We ran towards the border, trying to make it across, but our paths have been cut by other Croatian soldiers. We then retreated to the east seeing how that was our only apparent way out but stopped straight into a dead end. Our enemies approached us and in front of them stood a man with a half black, half orange mask".

"Slade!" said Robin who remembered reading that the last time Slade had been spotted was two years ago in Budapest and Zagreb.

"Exactly" Anton replied clinching his teeth nervously and appearing to be very infuriated "He came closer and told us in English that we can either surrender or die there on the spot. He had about 30 military-police soldiers behind him and seeing how they would have surely tortured and killed us we unanimously decided to fight, but we did not talk to one another about it, this decision had been taken just by feeling the anger and determination that was in the air. I called the attack by shouting "Long live Serbia!" and we ran face forward towards death. Some of our men had been shot but by the time the enemy reloaded we were already next to them and started killing them one by one. The battle was hard but at the end the wounded and the dead were on the ground and only Slade and I remained fighting. When I was not paying complete attention Slade pulled out a gun and shot me in the chest. Luckily for me I was wearing a Kevlar vest, but because of the effort I could not get up on my feet to fight him anymore and he probably thought that I was dead. He went over to my comrades and shot most of them in the head to make sure that he would not be followed and came back to me and stole my papers after which he left"

"What a dishonorable method of battle" Starfire shouted "Slade used trickery and deceit to obtain victory, he was a coward, not a warrior"

"Star's right, what Slade did wasn't honorable at all, but how did you make it back to Serbia anyway? … That is, if you made it." Cyborg asked.

"After I had been shot in the chest I have fainted on the forest floor, yet not because of the pain but because of exhaustion" Anton replied while looking up towards the moon "Our luck has it that Lazar, the team's communication expert still had the radio transmitter which we used to contact several Serbian posts and told them to help us. After a few hours, at about one o'clock in the afternoon, a carrier plane took us and our dead comrades back to Serbia. The only ones who made it out alive were me, Lazar and Bogdan. I have no idea why God had chosen us to live but I am sure he had a good reason"

"I believe that your God did in fact have a reason" said Starfire, placing her hand on his shoulder and smiling warmly towards he friend "Please, what had happened after your rescue?"

"We arrived in Belgrade and we were taken into intensive care but the doctors only recommended us one week of pause. We heard the doctors and the hospital personnel talking and found out that we won the war because leading figures of the Croatian government have been assassinated. We felt very proud and I believe that some doctors had the impression that we were somehow involved in those strikes but our minds were only focused on the memory of our dead comrades. Lazar and Bogdan became quiet, very quiet; we almost did not even speak until we were taken to our base by our head instructor. When we arrived there we were congratulated by everybody and even received the Warrior's Heart decoration first class. We were indeed proud of what we have accomplished but knew that nobody would know about our actions"

"Why is that?" Starfire asked looking surprised "You were heroes, and heroes deserve to be known by the ones that they have protected and nearly died for"

"I agree Starfire, but you see, the "Uber Soldat" project was secret and if anybody knew about what we have done things could not have went on without troubles, both internal and international" Anton replied looking a bit frustrated, but he wasn't frustrated because of Starfire's curiosity, it was because he realized that he had accomplished something grand and that nobody but him, his living comrades, his uncle and his superiors knew about it, but he soon brushed off that thought remembering about his training and that pride was the thing that brought his comrades death in the first place.

"So you are a national hero but your people don't know? … Dude, that sucks!" said Beast Boy who also thought that his friend was indeed treated ungrateful and didn't get what he deserved.

"So what happened next?" Robin inquired "You won the war, you're a hero to your people but nobody knows it, you lost 17 comrades and made it out alive … But how did you find out that Slade was the one responsible for their death?"

"I was getting to that right now" he replied "After we were decorated we received another order; announce our comrades deaths to their families. We would have done it with or without a direct order so we prepared to head out to every family. Lazar and Bogdan presented their respects and also the Serbian folded flag with the post mortem medal of Ultimate Honor and Sacrifice to 11 of our comrades. I have done the same thing to the rest of our comrades, excepting Vlad. Every time I saw a mother crying for her lost son, every time I saw a father falling to his knees in grief, every time I saw a brother or a sister pulling on my shirt and asking me desperately where their brothers were I felt like putting a bullet straight through my brain, but I remained strong and accumulated the grief and anger in my heart. The last comrade of which's death I had to report was Vlad. He lived in a village near the border with Kosovo and his house seemed rather poor. I knocked on the door and after a few seconds an old man with the face of a saint answered. He looked at me and felt very glad to see me. He told me that he was Vlad's grandfather and that he raised him ever since his mother and father dies in a car accident and wanted to know what he had done in the war. He thought that I came there to take him to the base and see Vlad and noticing this I did not know how to tell him that his beloved grandchild was dead. Finally, I gathered all my strength and only showed him the flag and the medal. At the sight of this his joyful expression changed and he could not believe that it had happened. He fell to his knees and landed on the ground crying his heart out. I kneeled down to help him up but he did not want to. He punched the ground relentlessly, cursing the Croatians to hell and kept asking why it had to happen. Seeing Vlad's grandfather weeping and mourning remembered me of how fortunate I was to be alive. Also, his words were very powerful. I watched and listened to him carefully and with every one of his words my heart filled with anger and thirst for vengeance until it could not anymore. I helped him up and placed him on a chair in his house. I handed him the flag and medal and told him that his grandsons death will be avenged"

"Poor man, I can only imagine what he felt" said Raven who sensed the grief in Anton's heart.

"It …It was not a pretty scene Raven, I can tell you that much" Anton replied mumbling a bit and clinching his teeth "After I had left Vlad's grandfather I threw away the medal that I have received feeling that I was responsible for his death and one word that would keep me up every night raced through my every thoughts while I was leaving… Revenge. I reported back to my base and was granted two full months of freedom. I went back home to my uncle who congratulated me and hugged me as if I was his own child. The next day I went back to the base which was only a couple of miles outside of town and tried to find a way to discover who the masked man that shot me and also my other comrades really was. I assumed that he was an assassin seeing how he wore a mask so I decided to do some searching. I forged ID's and passes and broke into secret military computer base accessing restricted secret service data-bases and risking my freedom, but I was determined to find the murderer. For six months I have searched every information available but with out results. Finally, when I thought that I was again lost I found a picture of him in a CIA internet criminal data-base. I read all there was to know about him, including his fight with you, the Teen Titans, and even the fact that he was last spotted in Budapest and Zagreb, secretly speaking to Croatian military officials. The last lines that I have read were that he had probably returned to the United States, here in Jump City. I tried to read more but somebody found out that my ID's and passes were forged and I was almost arrested by the military police. I jumped out a window and made it back home where I packed my bags and told my uncle what happened. He advised me to run far away and I told him what I was planning to do. He agreed to keep quiet about this matter and also told me not to stop until my duty was fulfilled. He promised me to tell Lazar and Bogdan what I was about to do, gave me about 700 American dollars that he had stashed away for bad days and wished me the best of luck, after which I left and ran out of the city as fast as I could. My road to the Jump City had then begun"

"Hold on a minute Anton" Robin interrupted seeming a bit nervous "If you ran away from Serbia doesn't that mean that you are a wanted man?"

"Yes, unfortunately I am" said Anton understanding the reason why Robin had asked him that question.

"And for the last months we've been harboring a wanted man?" Robin inquired crossing his hands.

"Do not worry Robin" said Anton raising his palm to his chest level and also face forward towards the titans "I have taken precautions in order to not be recognized. This black shirt is from my uncle and I believe that you now know why I wear that mask when ever we went into the city"

Robin thought about what his partner said and still had doubts that he had fooled the authorities but seeing how things went smoothly and no police men or FBI or even CIA agents bothered them he relaxed realizing that he indeed slipped through their hands.

"But how did you get to the U.S.A.?" Beast Boy asked curiously "Seeing how you're a wanted man I doubt that you bought a business class plane ticket or took a cruise"

"Of course I have not done that" he replied "After I got out of the city I pondered about how I could leave and suddenly and idea popped into my mind, take a ship to America as a stall away. I did just that. I walked for five days before I got to the port of Herceg Novi were I hid in a life boat on a cargo ship that was destined to leave for America. I only ate what I had taken from home or what I could scavenge and was almost caught in Italy and Portugal but managed to make it out on time. After two months I had arrived in New York. I got off the boat by jumping into the bay and swimming to shore. I knew that Jump City is in the exact opposite side of the country so I decided to waste no more time. I walked all the way through Manhattan and the Bronx neighborhood where I was attacked on several occasions by street hooligans who wanted my money. After I immobilized and disarmed them I made it out of New York City and hitched a ride under a train that was destined to take me from Albany to Nashville. When I arrived in Nashville I started improving my English and for a couple of weeks slept under a bridge trying to figure out a way to get to Jump City. I decided that hitch hiking was a good option and went down the road trying to, as you say, "thumb a ride". Eventually I was picked up by a group of rockers who were driving a van and were heading for a Mettalica concert in Los Angeles. They said that they would be glad to offer me a ride and for the next weeks I spent a lot of time in their company learning American slang and popular culture and also becoming a heavy-metal fan". He stopped for a moment and chuckled remembering the pleasurable company he had on his trip to L.A. and also how he came to love bands like Mettalica, Pantera, Slayer and so on.

"So that's why you were always listening to heavy-metal when you worked out" concluded Cyborg rubbing while his chin.

"Yes, now you know" his friend replied "So, after I had changed courses of ways with the guys that I have met and ridden with I headed north towards Jump City. It only took me a day to get here and when I arrived I decided to have a bite to eat. I was low on cash but rather hungry so I walked into a store were a robbery was taking place. An armed man saw me without my mask on and he pointed his gun towards me. When I noticed this I realized that I was in danger and also the owner of the store. At that moment the red serum kicked in again making me grab the robber by his hand, making him drop his gun, but not before he fired a couple of rounds into the ceiling, and pounded him until he became unconscious. When I finished him he laid on the floor in a pool of his own blood and for some reason I started to identify criminals with the one I knew as Slade Wilson. The owner of the shop came over and thanked me but I realized that I was not wearing my mask and I ran away. I slept in abandoned buildings and attics, in the forests outside Jump City and even in the sewers during the night and searched for clues to Slade's whereabouts during the day. While I searched for information I tried not to be seen by people but I noticed too many infractions and felonies taking place and could not help myself from stopping the ones that were committing these acts"

"That's why the head lines of all the news paper wrote that there was a new hero in town" said Robin remembering the first time he heard about his friend's presence and also the time that he had stopped the Hive Five from robbing the first national bank of Jump City. Remembering this, one question popped into his head but he was interrupted by Starfire.

"And that is why Robin would not sleep at night. He was searching for this unknown crime fighter and that crime fighter was none other than you" she concluded addressing Rage.

"Really? Why gee I am sorry Robin, I did not know that my presence kept you awake. I apologize" Anton replied addressing Robin.

"No problem Anton, but I have a question" said Robin who looked at his friend while arching an eye brow "When you helped us out with Doom and Team Anarchy how did you know where to find them?"

"I did not" Anton replied making Robin look at him rather confused "Indeed, I have read about you in the papers that I found in litter boxes when I was searching for food but my mission was to find Slade. When I saw you on the ground being threatened by Doom I was actually only passing by trying to make it to the slums to find more information, but seeing how Doom was in the act of committing a crime the red serum kicked in yet again and I just had to fight him"

"But why did you refuse to come with us when we offered you a home?" asked Raven

"Because I thought that it would distract me from my work" Anton replied "Also, I thought that I would only be a burden for you and decided to follow my own path while you continued on yours"

"And how did you find us when Team Anarchy tried to loot the people from the movie theater?" Cyborg inquired

"Like I said before I had no such intention but I was only three blocks away when I heard people running and screaming. I saw that they ran out the movie theater so I decided to find out what had happened and I found you fighting Team Anarchy. The rest of the story you already know … I helped you, I was shot, I collapsed because I had not slept in four days, you took me back to the tower, nursed me back to health and finally convinced me to stay" said Anton concluding the story of his past and answering to what the titans wanted to hear

"I still have one more question though" said Beast Boy addressing his friend "At the tower you've always been neat with the house and more into solitude and stuff like that. Technically you're sort of a normal and tidy dude, but why did you react so freaky with me, Raven and Robin? It's not like we were your enemies or something"

"You are correct Beast Boy, you were not my enemies but during this time I became very contemplative and I did not want anybody to know what my true purpose for being in Jump City actually was. Also, because of this and because of that red serum I would respond violently to any taunt, threat, challenge or interference into my private life. I have spent much time alone trying to get this …thing, this unusual behavior out of my system but the effects are permanent and I could only reduce the effect by training both mentally and physically. Heck, because of this I even invented the name Rage; it was the first thing that popped into my head at the moment"

Anton's story was quite an impressive one. Indeed he was strange, quiet, impulsive and maybe even a little bit crazy but his past explained most of his abnormal behavior and made the titans realize that he wasn't nuts as they first assumed. He had a troubled past but somehow he seemed to be at ease with what had happened. He was a good man none the less and also a true friend.

"Dude, I never thought you went through so much" said Cyborg amazed by his friend's tale.

"Yeah, who would've have suspected?" continued Raven also impressed by Anton's life story.

"Well it is not like I have told you before about these things" Anton replied while sneaking a peek at the cold dark sky "But my job is done and I now know that my comrades can rest in peace for they have been avenged and their killer punished"

"Hold on dude!" Beast Boy said quickly as jumped in front of Anton blocking his way "This doesn't mean that you're leaving us, right? You're still a wanted man and you have no place to go and … "

"Hey, hey, slow down little buddy, slow down …" responded Anton looking seemingly surprised of his friend's reaction "I am not planning on leaving. In fact I was hoping that you guys would still accept me as a member of the team after all of this is over"

"Of course we will man, but are you sure you want to stay after every thing that had happened?" asked Cyborg.

"In Serbia I am an unknown hero, a wanted man, it would take me a great effort to get back to my home land where I would probably be jailed, what makes you think that I would not stay?" he answered making everybody realize that he was still going to be part of the team if they allowed him.

"I am truly sorry for what had happened to you friend Anton" said Starfire as she flew up towards her friend, stopping right in front of him, inspecting the scar on his face and remembering their first chat "I feel very bad for knowing that you went through all of this torture and …"

"Starfire stop!" Anton demanded with a calm voice "This is the thing that I feared would happen. Trust me Starfire, and also you my friends, I understand your concern and that you pity me and feel sorry for me and I am grateful for that, but the past remains in the past, there is no time to mourn it. I do not like it that you have to do this when in fact we should be celebrating. I mean come on! We have defeated Slade!" he said raising his voice and his fist in the air triumphantly and also looking quite happy "We are the victors, and tonight we have rid the world of a great pest. I think that this is a good moment to celebrate our victory. So what say you? Shall we sit here and mourn my past or shall we go down and have fun?"

Raven tried to sense if Anton was honest but she didn't sense anything that would suggest that he was pretending. In fact she could only sense powerful emotions of happiness and glory; he was finally in the mood they all wanted him to be.

"A party?" Raven asked while taking Beast Boys arm and looking at the others smiling "That would be just the thing we need right now"

"Splendid idea!" Starfire continued in her trademark childish and naïve happy way "We truly must celebrate this joyous occasion … What do you think Robin?" she said addressing her loved one for whom she now had stronger feelings than ever.

"Well we did get rid off Slade and the city is now a safer place but …" Robin said while crossing his hands and pretending not to be in the mood for partying "…Sure! What the heck, let's celebrate! The pizza's on me and the music is all of Beast Boy's concern. Let's head down fellas! Woohoo!"

Robin's response came as a shock to the other titans. The all determined and all focused Boy Wonder just talked and acted like Beast Boy when he's over excited or high on sugar (thinking about it who wouldn't be shocked?), but it was none the less a pleasant and unexpected surprise that overjoyed all of them.

They all headed down to the main room with Beast Boy and Raven in front and the others behind. It seemed that a new era was upon them, one of more peace than before and also one of more abundance in every aspect. It was what they've wanted all of this time.

While heading towards the stairs Starfire and Robin were the last ones to walk down but Robin told her to go ahead and join the others as he wanted to check out something on the ventilation system. Starfire complied and did just as he asked her to do.

When she was out of sight Robin shut the door and tuned around towards the moon and for an unexpected and also inexplicable reason made the cross sign and said:

"Thank you Lord! Thank you for protecting the ones that I love and thank you for giving me such wonderful friends. Hallowed be thy name Father! Amen!"

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P.S./ This is not the end, there are still 3 more chapters to go!


	39. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Sorry for not updating for over a week. Where I live the semester ends in about two weeks and I had to study a lot for tests, exams and auditings. School's areal bitch when you're in your last year of high school. So, again I apologize and I will try to write the last two chapters as fast as I can. So without further ado ... **  
**

**Chapter 19 – Hear thy countries call**

The celebration of Slade's defeat didn't compare to any of the titans past celebrations. Beast Boy was in charge of setting the groove and he did it the way he knew best choosing the type of music that suited all of them. They danced, ate and even drank thanks to a good half of dozen six packs that Anton hid in his closet a few months earlier when nobody was paying attention to him, thus confirming the fact that he had indeed prepared for the day of victory.

At first they thought about the fact that they were heroes and that they were supposed to set an example for others and that irresponsible drinking wasn't such a good example, but seeing how it was a moment of celebration and that they were in the tower where nobody could see them they decided do have a drink but not to push their limits. After all, discipline is the mother of victory, understanding and good will amongst people.

Beast Boy and Anton drank their beers faster then anyone else but decided to stop when they felt the alcohol kicking in. Naturally, Raven just couldn't help herself from slightly slapping BB over the head but after that embraced him seeing that he did in fact decide to stop at the right time. Cyborg didn't really like beer anyway but decided to have one with his friends just so that he wouldn't spoil the moment.

Robin and Starfire sat next to each other but didn't even have a taste of the beer that Anton brought. Robin was on his way to becoming a responsible father and told Starfire what drinking can do during her time of pregnancy and Starfire, who was also on the road to becoming a responsible mother listened to him and understood what he meant and the effects of drinking alcohol agreeing that it would be better for their baby not to be poisoned while still in the womb.

At about 4 A.M. the whole team decided to call it a night and get a few hours of well deserved sleep, all but Robin of course, who remembered he still had a few matters to attend to. As the others went to their rooms, including Starfire, Robin went over to the screen, turned the computer on, logged in and sent an email to police chief Edward Ford pointing out Slade's body exact location and promised him that he will personally hand him the files obtained.

After completing this last detail Robin initiated the lock-down for the entire tower and headed of to Starfire's room. When he arrived he noticed that his loved one was already sleeping and didn't wish to disturb her. He took of his boots, cape and shirt and settled in along side Starfire, holding her in her arms and with a small sigh fell to sleep.

"I'm sure glad that's over" Robin whispered to himself before closing his eyes.

The next morning Robin was abruptly awaken by his friends shouts.

"Yo Robin! Get up and move your lazy butt in here! There's something you need to see" yelled Cyborg from the entrance of the main room.

At first Robin still wanted to sleep but realized that he wouldn't be disturbed for something insignificant. He looked at his watch that read 11:00 A.M. and got up to his feet. He pulled on his boots and shirt and proceeded to the main room curious of what was going on. He entered the room just in time to see the TV screen and his friends watching the news. On the screen appeared a picture of Slade's body which was taken into an ambulance by medics and also a title that read "Slade commits suicide to escape the Teen Titans". At the sight of this Robin knew that he had a lot to owe to Edward Ford for covering him.

"Yesterday the super villain who called himself Slade planted three bombs in several parts of Jump City thus trying to make his presence yet again known in what seemed to be a new wave of violent criminal acts against its citizens. As hours passed by and while police officials still searched for answers that might have lead to the culprits capture, Slade faced a force that proved fatal to him" said a reporter who was at the scene of the crime just outside Slade's last base of operations "This morning police chief Edward Ford of the Jump City Police Department received a telephone call from Robin, the teenage superhero and leader of the Teen Titans, who announced that Slade had committed suicide after a fierce battle which on several occasions almost claimed their lives. Robin also declared that Slade committed suicide by shooting himself in the head after he retreated in the middle of the battle in order to avoid the Titans attack"

"Looks like Ford really knows how to whip up a good story ey guys?" said Beast Boy who was enthusiastic because of what he had heard but he was cut short by his team mates who in unison shushed him.

"At 9 o'clock this morning the police arrived at the scene and discovered Slade's body lying in a pool of blood in what appeared to be the villain's base of operations. They could only give one verdict and notice Slade's death after which they proceeded to finalize their investigation in what is now known as Jump City's longest man hunt. One hour ago Mayor Donald McGuire announced that he will publicly decorate the titans in a special award ceremony that will take place in front of the town's hall and which will also symbolize our cities relief from the violent acts of aggression that Slade had subdued it for the past two and a half years. Thank you again Teen Titans, the city owes a big debt to your countless efforts and heroism in fighting crime whenever it threatened us. This is Jane Smith for the Channel Six news, back to you Frank …"

It was official. They were now heroes and Robin wasn't accused of Slade's murder.

Cyborg turned of the TV and they all started cheering as though they weren't the ones that stopped him and just heard the news. After a couple of minutes the titans receive a phone call from Donald McGuire, the mayor of Jump City, who congratulated and thanked them for bringing Slade to justice and asked them to come in front of the Town's Hall that afternoon at 3 P.M. for the award ceremony.

At 3 P.M. in the front of the Town Hall a large crowd of people were cheering and awaited their heroes to personally thank them for bringing Slade down. The titans arrived with the T-Ship and were greeted by all of the people of Jump City, including police, justice and city officials.

When they landed they had all of the cameras pointed upon them but the crowd of people was stunned to see them. This happened not because they wore other clothes or anything like that but because they didn't know what changes went on in Titans Tower those last few months. A couple girls fainted when they saw Robin and Beast Boy holding Starfire and Raven's hands, not expecting to ever see them that way even though they did gossip about it for a long time.

"Hey BB, looks like we're real heart breakers ey buddy?" said Robin as he addressed his friend with a large smile on his face, which in turn made Beast Boy grin at the thought that he had so many fan girls that admired him.

Another curiosity was Anton's appearance. He was neatly dressed with a new black shirt which had two black collar tabs with a white cross in the center and clean green army pants tucked in his freshly shined boots, but he was also wearing his mask much to the disappointment of the citizens and the reporters. The people didn't know much about him other than that he was also part of the team and were quite curious to find out what his name was.

The titans walked to the top of the stairs of the Town Hall where Edward Ford and Donald McGuire gladly shook their hands and thanked them. As Robin shook Ford's hand he also gave him the files he found and told him to be extra careful with them as they contained important information about Slade.

"For two and a half years our city has been threatened by a mad man who almost took control of everything you see before you. On several occasions he almost won but thanks to the countless efforts of these young heroes which today stand before you, Slade has been stopped once and for all" said the mayor as the crowd of people went into a frenzy "For you endless courage and dedication we present you Teen Titans with the honorary medal of Boundless Glory" said McGuire as he proceeded decorating every titan in person.

The last one that was to be decorated was Anton, a member of the team which McGuire never had the chance to speaking to.

"I don't know you name, or where you came from or how you became a member of the Teen Titans, but by God I'm sure glad you're on our side" said the mayor addressing Anton.

"I am known by my friends as Rage, sir, and it has been pleasure to serve this city and its kind and law abiding citizens" said Anton as he saluted the mayor and received his decoration.

"Looks like you finally got what you deserved man" said Cyborg addressing his masked friend.

"Yeah, now you're officially a hero" said Beast Boy.

"It appears so" he replied smiling under his mask "Recognition is all that I have wanted"

"And now you've got it. We couldn't have done it without your help Anton" said Robin thanking and congratulating his friend after which shouted "Three cheers for Rage!" which sent the crowd into another frenzy all to Rage's surprise and pleasure.

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After Slade's defeat months passed by and the titans continued their fight against evil whenever it reared its ugly head. They were still six friends with a good relationship and things appeared to be going extremely well for them.

The media was now more interested in them after they noticed those peculiar surprises at the award ceremony. The headlines of newspaper articles and magazines were full of questions about what had been going on in Titans Tower. They asked themselves about how Robin and Starfire finally admitted their feelings to one another, coming up with numerous theories and ideas; they tried to find out how Beast Boy and Raven came to be so close seeing how they didn't show any signs of attraction to one another in the past; they wondered why Cyborg never went out with a girl and if he had issues due to his 'handicap' and also tried to figure out who Anton exactly was and how he became a member of the Teen Titans.

Never the less the tabloids had a lot of question material to put up in their pages and had been quite busy but one day a news paper article caught everybody's attention after a paparazzi took a picture of Robin and Starfire out in the city in which Starfire's womb was clearly larger than before. The idea of Starfire 'putting on a couple of pounds' didn't quite seem so plausible, so the next day the front page of local newspaper read "Future seventh Titan", "Robin and Starfire, soon to be parents", "Starfire of the Teen Titans is pregnant" etc etc. The news had been heard by everybody and the reporters kept calling in until Robin made an official statement announcing that Starfire was going to give birth to their child in late May.

Weeks came and left and the Titans were now paying special attention to Starfire. If there was any trouble in the city the boys would jump into action while Starfire remained home along with Raven who had to protect her in case something happened. It was the end of February and Starfire was in her six month of pregnancy. Until now everything went fine and the doctor that Robin and Starfire went to told them that their child had been developing quite well.

It was the morning of the 27th of February and Cyborg, Beast Boy and Anton were eating breakfast as they waited for the others to awake. When Raven, Robin and Starfire came in at the same time and sat down at the table Anton whipped them up a homemade American type breakfast with waffles, eggs, bacon, toast, milk and orange juice. After they've all eaten Anton took the greasy plates, glasses and cutlery to the sink and proceeded to washing them.

"Thanks for the breakfast Anton; you still haven't lost your touch" said Raven complimenting her friend's cooking.

"Yeah, in fact you seem to be getting better and better" continued BB.

"Teach a bull to use his horns and he will eventually break the fence that holds him captive" said Anton quoting an old Serbian proverb. "I am glad that you enjoyed your meal, even though I think I exaggerated a bit with the bacon" he continued while rubbing his chin.

"No way" said Cyborg who was cleaning his teeth with a toothpick "Too much bacon means more food for me"

"Then I will continue this way" said Anton as he started washing the dishes.

"Right, so who's up for watching the tube?" said Robin as he went over to the couch along side Starfire.

"Count me in!" exclaimed BB as he jumped on the couch and grabbed the remote control which flew up in the air "This time it's my turn to pick what we watch".

As they all sat down on the couch and watched the big screen TV, Beast Boy flipped from channel to channel trying to find something interesting for them to watch. Anton was also paying attention to the screen as he now enjoyed watching TV but continued washing the dishes. As Beast Boy flipped around the channels his old habit of commenting every program kicked in and he monotonously noted what he saw.

"Great, another Monday morning and nothing good on the tube" he said with a small note of frustration in his voice "Animal program – Life on the African savanna, kiddy toons, fitness channel, tennis match, soap opera, infomercial, infomercial, news – oil prices rise on the stock market, infomercial, infomercial, infomercial, Discovery channel, CNN - new war in the Balkans …"

At the sound of Beast Boy's last words Anton dropped a plate on the floor and jumped in front of the couch as his team mates watched him, not understanding what happened.

"Beast Boy, go back to the last channel" Anton demanded quickly, surprising everyone with the tone with which he spoke.

"Huh? You mean CNN?" he asked.

"Yes! Do it right now!" he yelled as though something had gone wrong.

Beast Boy complied to his friend's request and clicked back to the news channel that he had just passed. The others wanted to ask Anton what was going on but before they could speak they notice that on the screen a war was going on and a reporter with a helmet spoke something about a new crisis in the Balkans.

" … Those were the scenes that the people of Subotica and Priština saw earlier today as Croatian and Albanians forces invaded Serbia, declaring war and soliciting the surrender of the Serbian government. This new conflict which shakes the Balkans yet again comes after only 3 years and 7 months since the beginning of the last Serbo-Croatian war which left both nations in economic instability. Last night Croatian and Albanian officials declared war on Serbia demanding war reparations and the Vojvodina region on behalf of the Croatian government and the unification of the Kosovo region with Albania on behalf of the Albanian socialist Congress. As Serbian forces are now heading for the front, Croatian and Albanian forces are destroying everything in their path and murdering civilians that hold Serbian flags outside their homes. We'll be back later with more information about this new conflict which again destabilizes the peace process between the countries of the former Yugoslav Federation and again threatens the lives of many. For CNN news, reporting from Belgrade, this is Harvey Adams, back to you Roger …"

The moment the reporter stopped his transmission Anton's eyes turned red again and with a violent shout of anger he furiously smashed his fist into the table that was situated in front of the couch, breaking it in two and scaring the Titans. After he broke the table he started shouting at the TV screen in Serbian and waved his fist while doing so. After about a minute of shouting he turned around and went to his room while continually shouting.

As he went out the sliding door the Titans felt as though a potential threat just walked out.

"Dude, what was that all about?" said Beast Boy who was in a state of shock.

"You saw what happened" Cyborg replied pointing to the TV screen "His homeland was attacked again by the Croatians and the Albanians, and if I remember right the Serbs hate both of those nations. How would you feel if you were in his situation?"

"Pretty nasty" said Raven "I haven't saw him like this ever since that battle with Slade"

"You're right Raven, this thing really upset him" said Robin who was still looking at the sliding door in amazement "Star, what did he exactly say when he was shouting like that?" he inquired as he faced her.

"I dare not to literally repeat the awful words that I have just heard" she replied with her eyes wide open and her hands wrapped together near her mouth "He used foul language to express his thoughts of anger and hate for the Croatian scum and the Albanian sqiptars"

"Sounds like he's really pissed" concluded Raven.

"Yeah, what'ya think he's doing right now?" inquired Cyborg.

"Probably punching the bag in the gym or trashing his room" replied Beast Boy who actually feared that his friend wouldn't do something more extreme.

"I don't know what he's doing but I think we should go talk to him before he flips again" said Robin.

"Are you certain that this is a good idea Robin?" Starfire asked.

"Yeah man, you know what happens when he flips his wig and somebody tries to talk to him" said Cyborg who questioned the safety of Robin's idea.

"He did it because he kept things to himself. He's different now" Robin replied as he walked towards the sliding door "Now come on, we have to see what he's doing"

The titans followed Robin to Anton's room and kept their ears pealed for any unusual sounds. Contrary to what they might have assumed at first they didn't hear any loud sounds on their way. When they arrived to his room they could hear Anton cussing in Serbian and took the risk of opening his door. When they looked inside they saw Anton packing his uniforms and the rest of his cigarettes in a bag. Even if Anton saw them he still continued packing his bags and didn't ask them what they were doing inside his room without even knocking.

"Err, Anton, what are you doing?" asked Robin trying to find out why his friend was packing.

"What does it look like I am doing?" Anton rhetorically asked back.

"Packing your stuff?" Beast Boy replied figuring out that Anton wanted to leave.

"No my friend, I am going to war!" he replied laconically.

When the titans heard Anton was going to war they realized that he wanted to go back to Serbia and fight along side his countrymen against their foreign invaders. This came as a great shock to all of them seeing how this time he could even get killed if he did what he said he would do. They protested in unison and tried to convince him not to risk his life.

"I beg off you friend Anton, do not go to war. It is a great risk and you could end up deceased" said Starfire

"Come on man, you can't go! You'll get shot, you'll get bombed, you'll get captured and tortured" continued Beast Boy

"The odds are to great Anton. You might not make it out this time" said Raven

Being assaulted with so many questions Anton placed his bag over his head and told everybody to be quiet.

"Please, please listen to me" said Anton as he stood straight in front of his friends "I completely understand your concern, and I admit that this time I might not live, but my countrymen are dying, my people are being killed, my sisters are being raped, my churches are being burned to the ground and my land is being destroyed. I can not stand and watch this happen"

"But I thought you said that you never got the recognition you deserved from your people" said Cyborg pointing out what he heard before.

"That was because of the fact that the Uber Soldat project was kept a secret. And besides, I care more about my country and my fellow Serbs than for a stupid medal or any recognition"

"But you're a wanted man" Robin pointed out "The moment they'll lay their hands on you you'll be arrested"

"Not to worry Robin" Anton replied "After interrogations I am sure that they will send me off to battle along with the most ill trained unit of all"

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" asked Robin after a seconds long pause.

"I have not been so sure of anything in my entire life" Anton replied as he clinched his fist at the thought of what happened in his fatherland.

"Then we won't stop you" Robin replied with a sigh "If this is your decision I respect it and I wont hold any grudge against you"

"Thank you for understanding my friend" said Anton as they all proceeded downstairs.

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By the way, Rage/Anton is Serbian, but I'm not ... I live in Romania (Cluj-Napoca city) and I have quite a lot of Serbian friends from which I learned a lot of interesting stuff so this is also dedicated to them, their culture and their patriotic spirit.


	40. Chapter 20

**A/N: **Sorry for not updating for so long guys, school and extra-courses have really been bitches and my internet provider cut me short for not paying on time but alas I can now post the second last chapter of the story. I'll try and get on the last chapter as soon as possible, I promise :

_So if you all remember Anton/Rage was just getting ready to leave, the story continues ... Enjoy_

**Chapter 20 – Departure**

As they proceeded down to the garage nobody spoke to anyone. The news that Anton was leaving came as a shock to all of them but seeing the circumstances they all understood why he decided to depart. They took the elevator and arrived at the bottom floor where they entered the garage and pondered about how Anton was going to go home.

"So what's it going to be Anton?" Robin asked "How are you going to travel back to Serbia"

"The same way that I came to Jump City, on foot" replied Anton to the surprise of the others.

"You mean you're going back the way you came?" asked Raven

"On foot, as a stole away, hitch hiking and all that jazz?" continued Beast Boy.

"Exactly" replied Anton.

"Dude, the T-Ship and the T-Sub are faster than any other form of transportation" said Cyborg proudly "We wouldn't mind taking you there or at least half the way, you know?"

"That is correct, you have helped us plentiful during your stay and we would be more then glad to help you in return" continued Starfire who was also intrigued by her friend's choice.

"I know that I can travel there faster, but I can not" Anton replied "First off, the city might need you if somebody commits any type of crime and being away might lead to the criminals get away, and second, I have to travel this way. Retracing my steps back to Serbia is sort of a spiritual journey that I must take in order to leave the past behind and focus on the battle ahead of me. It is almost like a tradition if you understand"

"So are you sure that that's the way you want to travel?" asked Robin.

"I am positive" he replied "I must start my journey at the south side of the city, the same way I arrived here"

"Well if that's the case then we should go; there isn't much time for you to waist" said Cyborg noticing Anton's lack of patience and eagerness to start his journey.

They took the T-Car and headed down to the south end of the city where the road to L.A. started. It was a beautiful day outside with an almost clear sky and Jump City seemed to be as peaceful as never before, only the Titans felt strange and somewhat sad seeing how their friend was leaving towards what could have been his own death. On the way to their destination they didn't speak at all, they only watched out the window observing what was going on in the city and how its citizens went on with their lives not having a care in the world.

The trip lasted for only 45 minutes seeing how the traffic was rather low and people weren't in a rush to leave the city. They arrived at the south end of the city at about 1 P.M. and got out in order to greet their friend goodbye. This part of the city was more rural then what they've expected. The houses were scattered here and there, the hills were jam packed and full of trees and the road to L.A. cut through the dense forest that surrounded the city.

They pulled over on the right side of the road, got out and Anton took out his bag from the back of the T-Car preparing for his journey.

"I guess that this is where I depart" sighed Anton who also didn't seem very happy to be leaving Jump City and his friends.

"I guess so … it's been a great time having you as a friend but we know that there are things you have to do" replied Robin as Anton decided to say goodbye to everybody in person, starting with Beast Boy.

"Goodbye Beast Boy" said Anton as he shook his friend's hand "I am really going to miss playing the game console with you and eating vegetarian pizza"

"Yeah man, I'm gonna miss that too" replied BB with a tone of disappointment in his voice "But if you ever come back keep in mind that I'm still going to challenge and beat your sorry butt"

"You are on" Anton replied slightly nudging his friend in the shoulder and proceeding towards Raven.

"It's too bad that you are leaving Anton" said Raven "We never really had a chance to hang out except for that one time at the Soulless Destination café"

"Indeed, I am also sorry for not getting to know you even better" replied Anton after kissing her on both of her cheeks, a usual custom in Serbia "But I must say that I have enjoyed that place and I wish both you and Beast Boy to have a strong and healthy relationship. Take care, my friend".

The next person Anton said goodbye to was Cyborg, his training buddy and the one he could count on if something was damaged.

"Cyborg, my man, I will really miss those work out sessions. Thanks again for those tips on how to build up my muscular mass; they will surely come in handy when I battle those Albanian sqiptars and show off my physique"

"Don't mention it man, just look out for yourself and be safe. I wouldn't want you to get shot or anything"

"Thank you Cy" said Rage as he leaned towards Cyborg to whisper something into his ear "And by the way, I made a few modifications to your joystick. Please be sure to beat the grass stain for me"

After saying this Cyborg grinned and winked at Anton as if he wanted to say "Be sure that I'm going to kick his butt anytime". The next one Anton said goodbye to was Starfire, the one that showed him kindness ever since he became a Titan and also the first girl that ever kicked his butt.

"I will gravely miss you friend Anton" said Starfire as she grabbed her friend in one of her trademark bone crushing hugs. The only thing was that this time she didn't hug him because she was happy, in fact she was rather depressed "Please do be careful during your combat on the field of battle, I do not want you to die"

Even if he could barely move Anton still returned the hug and watched Starfire in her eyes with compassion.

"I promise I will" he replied "But in return you must promise me that you will love Robin as you love him now and that you will become a wonderful and proud mother" he said after which advancing towards Robin.

"It has been a great honor to fight along side you and to also be you friend" said Anton as he shook Robin's hand with a good tight grip which was meant to symbolize respect.

"The honor is all mine" he replied with the same formal type language that his friend used "It's been great having you as a friend Anton, we'll never forget you or your deeds and we're sure going to miss the cleanliness seeing how you will be gone".

Anton chuckled after hearing Robin's last phrase and continued with a smile on his face "I am sure that you will keep the Tower tidy and clean somehow. And remember Robin, you are a great leader and a good person; always lead your team to victory, take care of your friends and last but not least, love your child and Starfire with all of your heart, that is all that counts and all that is important"

"I'll keep that in mind" Robin replied "And don't forget to look out for yourself; you're going to face dangers far greater than you saw before"

"God knows I will" said Anton addressing all of his friends as he picked up his bag and was preparing to leave "Well my friends, it would appear that this is where our paths separate"

"It seems so" Robin replied "But remember, if you're ever in town our home is your home. Don't hesitate to ask us for anything; you'll always be welcomed".

"I will remember. Thank you for everything" said Anton as he swiftly turned around preparing to leave and looked over his shoulder to address his friends one last time "So long my friends, you will always have a special place in my heart".

After saying these words Anton looked forward towards the road he was about to take, sighed and went on his way. He marched towards his destination while singing a Serbian military song of sorts and slowly disappeared from the Titans sight.

"He was really a good guy" said Beast Boy as he remembered how he judged him in the beginning.

"Yes, he was indeed a true friend" Starfire continued as all of the team looked at the horizon.

It was all over. Anton left and the titans were now again in their original formation, but a lot of things changed since he came long and became a member of the Teen Titans and seeing how it was possible for him to never come back a sentiment of regret engulfed the whole team.

"Come on guys, let's go home" said Robin after about five minutes.

They entered the T-Car and went back to the city but nobody said a word or even attempted to start a conversation. At first, anybody who saw them might have thought that a friend of theirs died, but that wasn't the case, they regretted Anton's departure and were also afraid of him getting killed seeing how he was going back to war, so being silent seemed to be the appropriate way to act for now.

While they drove through the city they all thought about what was going to happen to their friend and wished that he would be okay. One member of the team though had deeper thoughts about Anton's departure. Robin started thinking about his friend ever since they first left the tower and at one point asked himself _"What did we obtain thanks to Anton?"_

He thought about this issue for a good 10 minutes and even if at first he thought that Anton didn't have a great impact on their lives he finally realized that the truth was otherwise.

"_Alright, let's do a recap"_ said Robin to himself as though he was having a discussion with his conscience _"First, he saved me and Starfire before he became our friend. Check. Second, he defeated a good couple of bad guys and saved Jump City's citizens. Check. Third, both Beast Boy and Raven got closer after he spent some time with them … I don't know if he had anything to do with this but I'm sure he did. Check. Fourth, he kept the tower organized and tidy and we didn't have to move a finger. Check. Fifth, he located Slade's base. Check. Sixth, he saved Cyborg's life and shot Slade's robot commando before it shot Cy. Check. Seventh, he played an important role in Slade's defeat. Check … That's all that I can think off right now. What else did he do that was good? Hmmm, well he did apologize every time he did something wrong … a bit too much actually; you might have thought he grew up like a beaten dog … anything else? Oh yeah, he accepted my apologies in a heart beat after I started that fight on the roof; pretty strange though considering his temper … What else? He pulled his gun to Slade's head before he shot Starfire"_

At remembering this last detail he realized just how important his friend's intervention in their life was. All of the titans were immobilized and couldn't move, including Robin; Anton was in fact the one that saved Starfire from being shot in the first place. All of these months that have passed, plus Slade's defeat, made Robin so happy that he forgot about this fact. It seems that he had more to thank Anton than just saving the team. Starfire was practically his life, he couldn't have lived with out her and even if she had died and Slade wouldn't have snuffed him Robin realized that he could have even committed suicide because of this terrible loss.

Once again he felt relieved and glad that things turned out alright but a feeling deep down in his stomach told him that if Anton wouldn't have been part of the team his loved one might not have been here now. They stopped at a traffic light near S.T.A.R. labs and the others were just looking out the window at the passing people who were all seemingly happy and didn't have a care in the world. Robin turned around to look at Starfire knowing that she was the person he actually lived for and smiled as he saw her observing what was going on outside while placing a hand over her womb. Starfire noticed him and turned her attention towards him.

"Robin, are you troubled?" she asked.

"No Princess, I was only searching for a ray of light and I noticed it came from you" he replied making Starfire giggle.

They exchanged looks for a good couple of seconds and felt the warmth coming from each others stare when suddenly the sounds of a heavy object hitting the front of the T-Car made them turn their attention towards the road. At the moment of impact Cyborg steered the T-Car to the right and noticed that the top end of a street light landed on his "baby". They got out to see what exactly happened but to their displeasure they noticed that someone was attacking S.T.A.R. labs front guards. Upon a closer inspection they realized that the perpetrator of this attack was no one other then Doctor Light. Before he called the attack Robin told Starfire not to interfere and stay in the T-Car seeing how her condition didn't permit her to fight.

"I don't understand why you even try" said Doctor Light as he blasted the front guards of the S.T.A.R. labs with a particle weapon which emanated an extremely bright and hot white aura "Why don't you just go and grab a couple of donuts and some coffee while I take, ughhh … "

Doctor Light tried to finish his sentence while addressing the overwhelmed guards but was interrupted by a blow to his head which came from Robin's bird-a-rang.

"Seriously Light, aren't you getting tired of always getting your butt kicked and going back to jail?" asked Cyborg as he aimed his sonic canon towards him.

"Yeah, do you really love prison cells that much?" continued Beast Boy.

"You again?" shouted Doctor Light who seemed to be quite irritated by the fact that the Titans appeared again to foil his plans. "Not this time you under-aged trouble makers" he continued as he shot a beam from his weapon directly towards the titans.

As the beam approached them Robin sounded the attack and the titans moved out just in time to avoid Light's projectile. Robin attempted to attack his enemy with his bo-staff but Doctor Light blocked his hit, grabbed his staff and sent Robin hurdling into an underground parking. Cyborg shot at Light with his sonic canon but the effects of his wave form projectile was neutralized by Light's beam. The fact is that both sound and light are wave forms and Doctor Light knew this using it to his advantage. While Cyborg wasn't paying attention Light threw several bomb form projectiles near him which blew up and blinded Cyborg and also short circuited him making him fall to the ground.

"What the heck were those things man?" said Cyborg as he pressed on his temples and rubbed his eyes.

"Electro-magnetic discharge disks. Next time be more wise and don't attempt anymore attacks" Doctor Light replied as he noticed Beast Boy attacking him in the form of a bull. Before Beast Boy could reach him, Light put his hand up palm forward towards him and formed a shield of light which stopped Beast Boy's attack. After hitting Light's wall Beast Boy span around dizzy while his nemesis blasted him, sending him to the ground out conscious.

"Don't you ever get tired of facing the dark side of life?" suddenly asked Raven from behind staring at him as her eyes turned black.

"Face he light you little witch" Light yelled as he swiftly turned around and threw a projectile that exploded right in front of Raven trapping her in a light bubble from which she couldn't escape. As Doctor Light proceeded towards the S.T.A.R. labs entrance he was again attacked by Robin who hit him in the side with a swift kick and tried to punch him as he fell, only this time Light blasted him before hitting the ground (while Robin was still in the air) and sent his opponent straight into a near by building. Robin hit the building quite hard and landed with a thud but knew that he had to get up in order to continue fighting but something happened that he didn't count on. Light shot another couple of rounds towards him as if he practiced shooting and hit a couple of balconies from the top levels of the building making them fall over Robin and leaving him with only a small hole through which to breath and see what was going on, although this last detail wasn't in Light's original plan, in fact he counted on the fact that Robin would be crushed under the heavy rubble.

After disposing of Robin, Light dusted his hands off and devilishly laughed at the thought that he had defeated the titans but before he could turn around towards his destination he was hit by a beam of green energy and fell to the ground as his ears were on the verge of exploding because of the impact. At first he didn't know what it was but remembered that he didn't take care of all of the Teen Titans. He got up and shook his head and tried to pin point the place where his attacker stood. He looked around and noticed the T-Car and inside was Starfire who, at the sight of Doctor Light, ducked under the windows hoping that he didn't see her.

"_Well, well, the red headed one. She won't be too much of an inconvenience"_ Light said to himself as he pointed his weapon towards the T-Car, blasting it at medium power and sending it skidding on the road ending trapped between two other cars.

Although he was under the rubble Robin could still see what was going on. He prayed that Starfire wouldn't try to be a hero but her altruistic and crime fighting spirit prevailed over her knowledge of what fragile condition she was actually in. Quite typical some might say, but not good enough for Robin; when he saw Light shooting at the T-Car he started struggling, trying to get out from beneath the heavy rubble. His first attempts were to no avail but after he noticed Light slowly proceeding towards the half damaged T-Car he started panicking and though about what he might do to Starfire.

He then started struggling even more and harder and also searched his utility belt for anything that might help him get out faster, but to his surprise he found an odd thing in one of the pockets, a syringe with a protection cap over the needle which contained a strange red serum. He took it out and noticed that it reminded him of something … the red serum that Anton was injected with. This had to be it, what else could it have been? But what was it doing in his pocket? He searched that particular pocket again hoping to find something else and found a piece of paper with a reverse left hand script, probably Anton's writing. He unfolded the paper and read what was written.

"_I slipped this inside of your pocket when you were not watching. This is the red serum that was experimented on me. If you are ever in any type of trouble or in a complex situation and need increased stamina or strength just inject the contents of the syringe into one of your veins and in 30 seconds its effects will be visible. After the first dose there is no side effect apart from the rage, so do not worry about any other unexpected surprises. Your friend, Anton"_

A goodbye gift that came just in the nick of time.

"_How convenient"_ thought Robin to himself sarcastically as he hesitated no longer and did just what the note told him to do. He injected the serum into a vein on the lower part of his hand seeing how he couldn't reach much higher because of the boulders and after a minute he started feeling his mind easily sliding away into darkness and fury. He felt a sudden sharp pain in all of his muscles and saw Doctor Light again. At the sight of this Robin's view started turning red and a wave of anger took control of his brain. He couldn't bare it anymore and with a swift move of his hands he pushed himself up and moved away the boulders that were on top of him. He then stood up and saw Doctor Light taking of the roof of the T-Car.

"Why hello there my precious, it's nap time for you" said Doctor Light making Starfire curl up in a ball while screaming as he was ready to blast her. He took his aim and devilishly grinned at the thought that he was finally victorious but before he could even attempt shooting her he felt something pretty large hitting him in the head and the next thing he knew he was on the ground all covered in blood with Robin on top of him, pummeling him into non-existence as his eyes turned to a dark shade of red.

Robin was overcome with anger and as Anton's serum kicked in he finally felt what his friend felt when he wouldn't stop brutalizing his enemy … a complete sense of pleasure, total thirst for blood and vengeance, an intense rush of adrenalin pumping though every blood vessel imaginable. No wonder Anton didn't want to stop, in fact it was more then probable that he loved it.

Robin continued beating Doctor Light for about 5 minutes until finally he felt something grabbing him from behind and placing him down on his back. At first he wanted to retaliate, but didn't as he heard his friends voices.

"Cut it out man, settle down!" Cyborg yelled as he held Robin's right arm.

"Yeah dude, you're killing him!" shouted Beast Boy struggling to hold his friend's feet in place.

"It's not worth it Robin, snap out of it!" continued Raven who also held Robin's left hand in position.

At the sound of this Robin woke up from the violent trance that he entered and saw his friends looking at him amazed. He then looked in front of him and noticed Doctor Light in the worst condition possible. He was more dead than alive and his face was badly bruised and bloody.

"Man, what happened?" asked Beast Boy.

"The rage!" Robin replied laconically.

"Come again?" Cyborg inquired, not understanding what his friend meant.

"The rage that Anton felt … Now I know why he acted that way. It was awesome" he continued looking at his defeated adversary.

"You almost lowered yourself to his level" said Raven trying to lecture him.

"And I liked it!" Robin replied to the amazement of his team mates who still didn't understand a thing he said.

After getting back up to his feet Robin went to the T-Car and noticed that Starfire was looking at him though the window. She was safe, nothing bad happened to her and he made sure that her attacker got more than what he deserved. He opened the T-Car's door and took Starfire out, easily placing her on the ground next to the half wrecked vehicle.

"Are you all right?" asked Robin inspecting every part of her body for wounds.

"I am thanks to you" she replied with a warm kiss.

"I'm glad nothing happened to you, I don't know what I would have done if you were gone" he continued afterwards.

"Most probably something unnatural for your behavior, but now I am fine, our child is secure and we can go home" Starfire replied smiling at Robin and making his heart melt.

Seeing Starfire like this made Robin realize that being both a father and a husband won't be an easy task. He knew that he'd have much more responsibilities and understood that he'll have to take a lot of risks to keep his family safe. FAMILY. This word kept coming up into Robin's mind as he glanced into Starfire's emerald eyes, letting her absorb all of his being. He then thought about something … Something crazy, something special and also something very important that he wanted to ask Starfire. The thought was sudden but not new, he wanted to ask Starfire this for a long time and now he thought that it was the perfect moment.

"Princess, before you say anything, I have to ask you something" he said as he raised Starfire up to her knees.

"Yes Robin, what is it?" she asked as her hands nervously shook anticipating Robin's question.

"These last months have been for me the most beautiful months of my life, and ever since I saw you I knew that there was something special between us. Now, we are about to have a baby and also a family … Princess, I want to ask you something ... I ... I ..." said Robin mumbling and stuttering.

"Yes? Yes?" Starfire continued with a tear forming in the corner of her eye and joy in her heart as Robin held her hands softly.

Finally, after all of these months, while all of their friends were watching them gasping, and all of the people noticed them and were paying attention, Robin gulped, took a big breath of air and asked:

"Starfire, will you marry me and be my wife?"

At the sounds of these words Starfire burst into tears of joys and embraced Robin soaking him.

"Oh Robin, you do not know for how long I have waited for you to say that … Of course I will!"


End file.
